Civil War Mini-Arc
by InfinitNei
Summary: ((2015)) Since the Alvarez war, and the rebuilding of that which was lost, life had become relatively comfortable for humanity. To many new families, this meant that they would be able to rear their children in times of peace and prosperity. But be assured, peace must be preserved – even if that means defending it against yourselves. ((OK, maybe a little dark))
1. Message in a Bottle

_**Message in a Bottle**_

* * *

.

 ** _Prologue_**

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"To the person who finds this… in whatever time that is… Please… I need your help… we need your help."

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The young girl flinched to the sound of battle crashing against the battered walls of a home she tried desperately to cling to. The reflection of flames outside her singed bedroom door danced in her bright sapphire eyes as she tried to keep her tears from reaching the paper she scribbled on. Even though she didn't have a lot of time before the flames would be upon her, she tried to keep her trembling hand as steady as she could, her writing as neat as a ten-year-old girl was capable of.

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"I can't tell you when it happened, I was still too little. But I have to try telling somebody something… It's all… still a blur. One day, mommy and daddy started fighting. Really, really badly… I heard the voice of another woman in the yard, moments before her screams. Daddy was furious… and barely managed to survive mommy's wrath. But he wasn't helpless… He fought back right away and they haven't stopped. My brother took me into our rooms that day and said everything would be ok… I haven't left. But it's been months, almost a year of months, and mommy and daddy are still fighting. Fairy Tail is no more… The use of magic is prohibited by the magic council. If you're caught using it, you will face punishment..."

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She swiped her arm across her face to catch the tears meeting the paper. Whimpering her determination, she peeled her sweat-dampened, white-blonde bangs from her brow and pushed forward.

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"I haven't seen mommy or daddy since that day. The continent is divided… two dark guilds rebel against the magic council, against each other, the dragons and the hunters. I'm sure that's where mommy and daddy are. I asked my brother for help… but when he left, he never came back. Is he still ok? Or does he not miss our friends? Our family? I can't… I can't do this alone…"

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She let out a shrill scream and ducked beneath some rubble as the ceiling of her upper-level bedroom crashed down around her, little white wings sprouting from between her shoulders. She quickly snatched one of her most treasured possessions, but she wasn't in time to extend her dainty reach to the Kho'Misika N'Ahrai as it burst into flames despite her tearful wails of anguish. She caught her breath, clinging to the parchment she scribbled on as she took flight away from a city under siege. There was a tiny murmur of disdain as she observed the smoky ruins from above.

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"Magnolia is destroyed… The streets we used to play in, the guild where we'd meet and surprise Master-Daddy with his favourite cookies, nothing is left. Something has made my parents sick… They loved each other! Loved this city… loved me…"

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The sweet girl cried out again as she was shot to the ground from where she tried desperately to finish her note. She tumbled to the earth, protecting the paper with all her strength as she clutched it to her chest. She sniffled lightly and turned to face where she heard enemies approaching, quickly scrawling her conclusion.

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"If I inherited any of infinity's power from grandpa Ryverika… please… let this note travel through time and find it's way into the hands of friends… family… anyone who can help… Mommy… and daddy…."

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* * *

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"Hey! Levy! Come get yer kid before she kills me!" Gajeel grumbled impatiently. The impatient iron dragon stomped his foot and tried desperately to shake his giggling seven-year-old daughter from his leg.

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"N'Awe come on, daddy! Let's go for a swim," Lilian giggled out happily. She snickered darkly and chomped onto her father's leg with another mischievous beam, her shaggy ebony bangs bouncing in her face to her father's thrashing.  
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"Lesson time, kiddo! Do iron and water _sound_ like they'd go good together?"

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Levy laughed to herself and raised her fingertips from where they had curled around in the stream alongside her. She gently flicked the remaining droplets from small fingertips before sighing her obligation. "You two, honestly," she breathed. She gave Pantherlily's head a reassuring pat to rouse him from his slumber. "Sorry, Lily. Daddy dragon needs rescuing." She smiled softly as the Exceed murmured some gentle words and obediently flopped to one side of the script mage's thigh beneath the tree's shadow. But as she closed her book, a glimmer caught her eye from the break of sunlight in the leaves of the tree towering above them. Her brow furrowed quizzically as she reached out and retrieved it.

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* * *

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"If this note reaches you… Please tell mommy and daddy that I love them… in case I don't get to see them again in the future… I want them to know it in our pasts when life was still perfect and right…"

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She had just finished stuffing the note in a bottle when her ankle was grabbed from beyond the treeline. She winced with her wounds, banishing the angry scowls from thought as she cast her spell on the bottle. She threw it into the stream with a desperate cry of defiance, tears following it as it sailed.

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"Please…" Her brow creased with heartache as she watched the bottle strike the water's surface, bobbing a moment before it started to float away. "Save us…"

.

* * *

.

"Huh? Levy?" Gajeel grabbed his daughter by her collar and peeled her away from his leg, rushing to his wife's side as Levy cried out in surprise. Noticing that playtime was over, Lilian turned to face her mother as her toes met the ground. The two watched as Levy raised her fingertips to her lips the moment she hit her knees, panic swelling beneath both breasts. "Hey, what's the matter, Lev?!"

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"Mommy?" Lilian rushed out uncertainly, slowly trailing her father.

.

"What is it? What'd you find?" Gajeel interrogated curiously. He flinched as Levy lifted her trembling fingers to offer him the sketch that was in the bottle in familiar technique. Gajeel's expression immediately paled. "Is this…" His gaze widened in terror as he examined the bloodstained and torn family portrait drawn by his little sister and rank with the scent of Dreyar blood. "What the hell is this?!" He demanded uncertainly.

.

Levy tipped her trembling gaze towards Gajeel, tears streaming down her face. "A letter," she breathed out weakly. "From Lyra."


	2. Finding a Way

_**Finding a Way**_

* * *

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"Mom! Dad! Uncle Gajeel's here!" Alex chanted his gleeful announcement, mopping up the floor with his sock feet as he drifted around the halls towards the front door. He panted out his laughter as he barreled down the stairs, his baby sister stumbling around behind him with angelic laughter.

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Neirah poked her head out around the corner from where she was scrubbing dishes at the kitchen sink. "Be careful you two, running around like little demo-" Neirah gasped, dropping her dishes back in the sink as she watched Lyra take a tumble on the last step. "Lyra-!"

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"Is ok."

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Neirah heaved a sigh of relief and smiled to herself with the little girl's gentle squeak in reply. Just in case, her gaze continued to linger as she watched the dainty girl crawl to her feet, smooth her lengthy white-blonde curls from her face and collect Lucky before she chased her big brother down without a second thought. It was still unusual hearing Lyra speaking, but Neirah was thankful for it. After almost five years of silence, her daughter had finally found a voice capable of charming even the deadliest of beasts, and it was a magic all on its own. "Alex? Tell your aunt and uncle I'll be out in just a minute!" Neirah hollered after her son. "Once I've finished cleaning up after you little monsters."

.

Levy and Gajeel were solemn as they waited by the door, Lilian close to their side; but as soon as it flung open, Alex was crashing into his uncle excitedly. Levy watched them tumble to the ground, her spirits lifting with the young Dreyar's enthusiasm. But the moment she turned her head and met Lyra's bashful little grin, her heart shattered.

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She slowly knelt in front of the girl, the droning of her husband and nephew fading from her comprehension. Levy reached out and stroked Lucky's twisted whiskers, the stuffed white cat comforting in the moment as she tried to keep her composure in front of the unsuspecting child. He was a reminder that they had been through worse. "Hey angel, are your parent's home?" Levy asked softly. She knew full well that Laxus and Neirah wouldn't leave their four and eight-year-old home alone under any circumstance, but she thought that asking politely would be better than barging in like she owned the place. They were family, not neanderthals. She smiled weakly as Lyra nodded with a soft smile, taking Levy by the hand to lead her through the hall towards the kitchen her mother was cleaning.

.

Levy smiled and kneeled at the child's side again, stroking Lyra's kinky curls from her face. "Thank you," she murmured softly. She gently encouraged the girl towards the doorway to buy some privacy for the matter she needed to discuss with Neirah. "Can you go play with Alex and Lilian for a bit while your mom and I talk?" Lyra nodded with a soft smile before leaning up and kissing her aunt on the cheek, retreating with Lucky towards the yard to play with her cousin.

.

"You know, believe it or not, she's actually talking now," Neirah crooned proudly. She wiped the suds from her forearms with a dish towel just before she removed her fluorescent rubber gloves. She smiled broadly as she turned to face her visitor, propping her hip up against the counter. "She didn't want daddy to leave last week and told him exactl-" Neirah's heart sank as she looked down into Levy's glossy hazel eyes, confused as to why tears slowly rolled over her cheeks. "Levy, what's wrong?" Neirah's eyes grew wide as Levy lunged forwards, throwing her arms around her friend with tears strong enough to dampen her apron.

.

"We need to talk," Levy staggered out weakly. "Shads… something terrible is going to happen…"

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Neirah's brow creased in alarm as she watched a relatively sombre Gajeel shift his weight in the doorway, his gaze diverted from the women's. Her first thought was that something had happened to Fairy Tail's guild master, her husband. Then, after she let the moment of panic clear so that she could comprehend Levy's words clearly, her confusion deepened. Neirah caught her breath as Levy passed her the note she had found in the stream not far from where they stood. She cut her gaze from the damaged paper to where Levy stared back at her through her tears. "Wait… Did you say… ' _going to happen'_ …?"

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* * *

.

That night, like everyone before it, it had never felt so good to come home. The weight of the day's events were lifted as soon as his hand touched the knob on his front door, but even as they left him, an ominous presence slipped through his comprehension as he opened it. It was still rather early for their son to be in bed, but the house was dark, save for the kitchen. He might have been able to shake the feeling of Neirah and Levy in grim discussion towards the light, but when his first step was retreating beneath the force of an iron dragon, he knew that something terrible had happened.

.

He expelled a harsh and uncertain breath with Gajeel's assault on his airway, allowing the obviously furious man to pin him to the back of his own front door. It had been a long time since Gajeel had confronted him in such a manner, and his first thoughts were that something had happened to baby Blacksteel; that he'd allowed something to happen to Neirah. "What the hell's goin' on here?!" He kept his hiss of demand low, knowing full well that Lyra, if not both of his children, would be in their beds.

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"You listen up good because I'm only gonna say this once," Gajeel growled in warning. "If I EVER catch you runnin' around on my kid sister… she won't get a chance to kill you herself."

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Laxus' brow furrowed in utter insult, and moments before he parted his lips to offer his defence, their encounter had been interrupted. "Gajeel!" Levy called out angrily from the kitchen doorway. With an obedient grunt, Gajeel released Laxus' throat and stepped aside, allowing Laxus a glimpse at the diamond tears pouring from the heartbroken azure eyes of his wife.

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His lips parted with the uncertain hitch in his breath. "What happened…?" He forced his words out in a hushed breath, rushing a step towards his wife as his mind raced in terror. "Alex? Lyra? What the hell's goin' on!?"

.

"They're fine… They're in bed," Neirah whispered weakly. She diverted her gaze to the note Levy had delivered and a soft whimper caught in her throat when she felt Laxus' hands rest along the sides of her damp cheeks.

.

"And you?" He inquired uncertainly. He couldn't take the tension in the room, and to someone who valued their family above all else, he didn't think his heart would survive the scare of harm befalling them. "Come on, give me somethin'," he forced past heavy breaths. "These don't come for nothing."

.

She leant into his touch as he stroked the tears away from where they leaked along the tattoos by her eyes. "Our daughter," Neirah started in a broken whimper. She raised her hands to his, wrapping her fingers around his hands as she encouraged him to take the note from their daughter. "She's contacted us… from the future…"

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* * *

.

Lyra cried out as she was tossed into a musty cell by the people who'd captured her, her wounds stinging with the impact. She shifted her exhausted gaze their way as they left her, muttering something about a hunt like she was some kind of animal. She quickly scurried into one of the darkened corners of her cell, drawing her knees up to her chest as she started to cry. Obviously, the Magic Council was imprisoning magic users so they weren't assimilated to the cause of either side of the war. Something that not even children seemed to be exempt from. She shuttered in betrayal as she began to release her tears. She was ready to spend the rest of her evening contemplating the reality that had turned her fairytale into a nightmare, and if fate had it, possibly the rest of her days.

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"Lyra?!"

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Lyra let out a shrill scream as she was suddenly embraced by someone who evidently shared her prison cell.

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"Lyra, it's ok. You're ok…"

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Lyra opened her eyes as teardrops fell to the top of her head from the eyes of the woman who had clutched her to her breast. She slowly tipped her gaze towards the woman, her heart racing with the familiarity of her voice, the familiarity of her scarlet coloured hair. "M-miss… Miss Erza," she stammered out weakly.

.

"That's right," Erza whispered tenderly. She accepted the girl's shattered whimpers as arms were thrown around her damaged figure in comfort. Her smile was faint as she gently stroked Lyra's matted waves to the sound of relieved tears filling their prison. "I'm so glad to know that you are safe…" Erza's brow furrowed with heartache, feeling the delicate little girl trembling against her. "After Magnolia had been destroyed, I thought for sure we'd lost you…"

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"They came back," Lyra mewled gently. "Even after it was destroyed. They are taking away all the wizards that were hiding in the ruins so they couldn't join the war." Lyra turned her bright blue eyes towards Erza with a hopeful hum in her voice. "Wait… My brother," Lyra rushed out shrilly. "Have you… seen my brother? He left one day to find food and never… He never came back…"

.

Erza tried her best to display a reassuring smile to the fragile soul threads from breaking before her. "I'm sorry, Lyra, I haven't." Her admittance was grim as she turned her gaze towards their imprisonment. "I was captured a week ago when I was caught trying to defend a city-turned-battleground with my magic." More tears rolled over her cheeks at the thought of her sacrifice, the cost of her capture was nothing to know that freedom had befallen those she loved. She lowered her gaze back to Lyra's as it trembled back at her. "But I haven't seen him cross this way." She gently stroked the girl's fair locks as Lyra cried silently in her lap. "Alex is strong," Erza offered in comfort. "I'm sure he's just fine…"

.

"I'm so sorry," Lyra offered quietly. "For mommy… and daddy… what they've done. Please, please forgive them, Miss Erza. I know it's not their fault… I know it…"

.

"Shh…" Erza lightly hushed. It was hard enough for Erza to consider that two of her dear friends had turned the continent into a chaotic mess. It seemed like the happiest family turned feral faster than anyone could comprehend, leaving the bystanders to scatter to the winds. But as hard as it was for Erza to picture the villains that Laxus and Neirah had become in the last few years, it was harder to consider that they could leave Fairy Tail's Angel behind to suffer the aftermath alone. "None of this is your fault. Nobody could have foreseen this…"

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"Somebody will…" Lyra silently promised. She slowly closed her eyes as she rested her tired head against her ally's lap. "I promise… somebody… somewhere… They will."

.

* * *

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"This is a joke, right?" Laxus demanded in outrage. "There's no fucking wa- How is this even possible?!"

.

"Would you quiet down," Neirah scolded. "Alex, Lyra and Lily are sleeping. They don't need to know about this." She lurched forwards and silenced her husband's elevated raving. "It can't be a joke," she assured him sternly. "Laxus, you know I've been working on this sketch by night, but I've only barely started. Not only has it come to us completed, but stained with our daughter's blood!" Neirah threw her hand over her face to catch her agonised whimper. "Lyra, I swear to infinity if anything has happened to her…"

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Laxus reached out and tangled his fingers in his wife's long auburn hair, holding her tightly in his embrace. He narrowed his devastated gaze on their kitchen and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He understood now why Gajeel had come to assume that he had been running around on his wife. It seemed to be what Lyra was implying. "Neirah, I would never do anything to hurt you," he tenderly reassured her.

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She shook her head against his touch feebly. "Even if I could ever doubt you, I would never turn my back on Alex and Lyra for the sake of petty revenge," she argued sternly. "But Lyra didn't tell us the whole story. There must be something more to it… The only way we're going to figure this out… is if we talk to her ourselves."

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"That makes no sense," Gajeel defended impatiently. "The kid's not gonna remember somethin' that hasn't happened yet."

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"That is not the daughter I'm going to ask." Neirah turned to face Laxus, a determined flash in her gaze. "If what Lyra says is true, the only ones capable of stopping our future selves are our past ones. We have to figure out what happened in the future that caused us to snap off at each other and stop it from happening in our past."

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"Shadow, you have to be reasonable!" Levy defended heatedly. "There is no telling how far in the future this is! You two might be strong now, but if you've truly divided the continent in the future, it is clearly insane how powerful you've become."

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"She's a damn dragon, Levy," Gajeel reminded her feverishly. "The controversy alone almost divided the fucking continent."

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Levy flinched as Neirah held up Lyra's letter, her expression unwavering.

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"I know the scent of my little girl's blood," she forced out in disgust. "And I swear on my life, the me that did this to her is going to get what she deserves. Lyra may not talk much… but she's incredibly sharp." Neirah spun the letter around to reveal the scribbled date on the back of it. "This letter was written six years from now starting yesterday." She assured them, throwing the paper onto the kitchen table. "You must have found the bottle almost the moment she sent it through time. And I intend on wasting none."

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"A lot can change in six years," Gajeel warned her cautiously. He had to attempt to defend Levy's sound reasoning when they stood in front of two unstably furious Dreyars.

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"Obviously," Laxus spat out darkly. He nearly growled with the tension causing his fists to tremble at his sides as he cut his gaze to the blood-soaked picture. "Normally, throwing ourselves into harm's way is the last thing I want to see, but in these six years, something goes wrong enough to destroy everything we've known."

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"I'm not trying to break lines to fight ourselves or anything so rash," Neirah assured them certainly. She had to admit though if she did run into her future counterpart, mamma dragon was promised to go berserk. "We just need to find Lyra and get the full story. She must be close by if we were able to recover her letter so quickly. There must be a way to prevent this from happening."

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"I can think of one way…" Gajeel growled under his breath. He cut his sharp, peripheral glare towards Laxus.

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"Don't you two start this again! For all we know you started this, Gajeel!" Levy scolded sternly She turned to face Neirah with a confident look on her features. Surprisingly enough, Levy had countlessly proven to be the braver of most of the Fairy Tail wizards, something the room serious needed a boost in that moment. She took Neirah's hands in hers with a determined look on her gentle features. "Tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do my best to help."

.

"Do you remember the Alra'Bekthian I taught you years ago?" Neirah started uncertainly.

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"Every bit."

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"Excellent…" Neirah took Levy's hand and rushed past their men. "My mother's journal still has content in it that I've never read. Obviously, that is where Lyra picked up this fancy little trick to get us her note. If my ten-year-old daughter is capable of sending objects through time, I'll be damned if I can't see people through it like my father."

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* * *

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Neirah gently stroked Lyra's mass of white-blonde curls from her sleepy smile as the young girl clutched her mother's old stuffed neko. Lucky, the good fortune cat, had been through a lot in their family since the day Gajeel had gifted it to a Shadow. Because of this, he had become a symbol of hope and triumph for all of them. As badly as nostalgia wanted her to squeeze him, she left him in the arms of her precious angel.

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"Stay brave, sweetie," she whispered softly. "Mommy and daddy will be there soon…" She was still sitting silently by her daughter's bedside by dim candle light as Juvia laid her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Thank you for coming," Neirah whispered delicately. She leant into Juvia's shoulder for comfort as the rain wizard knelt by her side.

.

"Of course," Juvia whispered kindly. "Juvia is happy to help her dearest sister, and Gajeel too." Juvia hugged Neirah to her breast with a soft and reassuring embrace between her shoulders. Neirah smiled with the warmth of the contact, but due to the severity of their situation, she refrained from reminding Juvia that she was the woman's only sister. "We are family… Juvia will take watch until our Shadow returns to us."

.

"We won't be gone long," Neirah admitted gently. She heaved a settling sigh before taking Juvia's hand in hers. "Our magic is only going to allow us three days of travel. I just pray it is enough…"

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"Gray-sama knows that Juvia will be here for as long as it takes," Juvia assured her confidently. "He understands. He will take care of the baby in Juvia's stead."

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Neirah nodded with a small smile. "And I think the guild is in good hands while Laxus is away." She finally chanced a laugh for her wandering thoughts. "His shoes may be big but they're not much to fill. He barely does anything when he's there anyways."

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To this, Juvia giggled and gave her sister's cheek a gentle kiss. "Laxus is a fine guild master so do try your best to return him too, if it is not too much to ask?"

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Neirah smiled affectionately and nodded her agreement. "I would never be from his side again…"

.

* * *

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Laxus hated watching the night unfold in the manner it had. Even if he still had a hard time believing the truth of his own daughter's words, he ached to wrap his hands around his own neck for the actions that brought tears to his angel's eyes. "Take good care of them while we're gone," he rumbled softly. He diverted his gaze from his fretful wife and towards the man at his side. "Alex might say that his bedtime is ten, but it's not. Lyra will try and sneak treats from the cupboard while no one's looking… but try to tell those eyes no." He looked around sheepishly before adjusting his weight closer towards Gajeel. "I usually let her have _one_ and put the others on top of the counter out of her reach…"

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Gajeel snickered lightly to himself before casting his gaze back towards Lyra's bedroom. "I'll pass it along to Juvia," he assured him swiftly. The suggestion forced Laxus' brow to furrow quizzically at the iron dragon's side.

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"You're not staying with the kids?" He murmured uncertainly.

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"Hell no," Gajeel admitted boldly. He rested his palm against Laxus' shoulder. "Any chance to openly kick your ass, I'm in."

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Laxus watched silently as Gajeel saw himself down the hall towards the main level of the house, and moments later, he was trailing him hesitantly. "You're coming with us…?"

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Gajeel scoffed with the insult he was offered in Laxus' hesitant response. "Levy thinks she can help Shadow cast some sort of super spell to get us all there for a total of seventy-two hours."

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"A unison raid then," Laxus observed silently. The two men walked in on Levy crafting a magic circle on the kitchen floor.

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"Of sorts," Gajeel admitted humbly. "Skippin' through time ain't no walk in the park. And I'm gonna be there to make sure the two of you get back to the kids you've got waitin' for you here."

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"So, if you're comin' with us, who am I gonna leave in charge back at the guild?" Laxus folded his arms over his chest with his casual dismissal of their worries.

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"Mirajane and Erza have agreed to look after things while we're gone," Neirah murmured softly while passing between the two men in the doorway.

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Laxus almost hit the floor with her admittance, but he settled for a derisive snort of amusement instead. "Remind me to tell you a story about those two and 'teamwork' a little later," he crooned.

.

Levy slowly stood and dusted herself off with a heavy sigh. "Gee Shads, how do you get your floors so clean?" She purred lightheartedly with a soft laugh.

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"Dragon slayer secret art," Neirah hummed. She made her way across the floors in order to close up the sacks she'd packed on the counter. She threw one each into the arms of their husbands.

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"What's this?" Laxus started curtly as he joined Gajeel in the examination of the bags.

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"Oh? Didn't Levy tell you? We needed pack mules but husbands came cheaper," she instigated impishly. She snorted mischievously and approached Levy.

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Gajeel sighed and turned to face Laxus, who hadn't taken his narrowed glare off his shrewd wife. "Just like old times, huh, Sparky?" Gajeel mocked sinisterly.

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"If this were old times, you'd be coverin' your teeth for that," Laxus warned him grimly. "Both you _and_ your sister know I hate that fucking name…"

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"Oh yeah… this is gonna be a blast…"

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"Well, it looks like we're about ready to go here," Levy mused in exasperation. "Let's hope I got this right and we all don't end up switching bodies half way through the jump."

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Laxus and Gajeel flinched in utter terror. "That ain't a possibility, is it?" Gajeel rushed out uncertainly.

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"What're you complainin' about?" Laxus growled impatiently. "That'd be a win-win for you."

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"Not from where I'm standin' buddy!" Gajeel defended with warming cheeks. "Besides, it'd be a little weird bein' married to my kid sister!"

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"A little?" Neirah crooned shoddily.

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"Oh please, you're not actually related," Laxus hissed.

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"Nostalgia, thy presence be known," Neirah serenaded. "Quit the quips, boys. I love you both dearly, but if I have to survive three of the olden days in the future, mamma dragon is gonna lose it."

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Levy laughed whimsically at their concern. "Really guys, have a little faith!"

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Neirah looked down at the lines solemnly, rolling her fingers over the curves. "I'm afraid that's all we're going to be running on for the next few days," she murmured ominously. "But we can't lose heart in the future we are about to see." She slowly stood and looked at the family surrounding her. "We are the only hope it has in being rectified… and I don't know about you three… but I'm not going to sit here and linger with the knowledge of my daughter's suffering in any time or world." She sighed softly as she approached Laxus, and when she drew near, she tipped her brow against his chest. "Stay close," she murmured softly. "I don't want to mistake you for another." She tipped her gaze back and looked up into his worrisome expression, her heart heavy with doubt. "I don't know what's happened between us in the future, but it hasn't happened yet. And I stand by my vow to love you until whatever bitter end."

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Laxus offered her a sheepish smile before taking her hand in his and raising her fingers to his lips. "Guess this is the worse to our better," he added dryly. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you kick my ass. Kinda sounds like I deserve it this time."

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Neirah laughed at his sentiment and laid her freed hands against his chest. "You _always_ deserve it," she teased playfully.

.

Gajeel rolled his eyes with a disgruntled scoff. "God, you two make me _sick_ ," he grumbled. "Nostalgia would have you two at each other's throats. Here, I'll even get you started. _Listen to me, you inconsiderate jerk_. _Make me, Little Lightning, oh wait, that's right, you can't 'cause I'm godly and yer just a_ -" Gajeel grunted with the impact of a pouty Levy's hand across his abdomen.

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"You could stand to learn a thing or two from this," she scolded impishly.

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"There's a difference between what goes on alone and what you flash in front of your damned friends!" Gajeel demanded fervently. He turned his agitated grumble away, a sulking blush in his cheeks. "That's still my kid sister!"

.

Laxus snorted triumphantly as he returned to tower over his brooding companion. "The two little rugrats upstairs are a testament to what I think about that…"

.

"Why you-!"

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"God, I already have a headache," Levy whined. "But I agree with Shads. We can't afford to split up knowing that the duplicates of us could be on opposing sides," she added sternly. "I think it's safe to assume that everyone's an enemy until they prove to be a friend."

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Gajeel scoffed impatiently. "Great… it's Edolas all over again…"

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Neirah drew Laxus into the circle, encouraging the others to follow suit. "That's enough out of you, Screwball," she taunted. She paced the enchantment to adjust them all into position, making sure everyone was clear of the magic circle's borders. "I've never done this before, so if you want all your limbs intact for the journey, I suggest you stay still while we're doing this."

.

"You know..." Gajeel started awkwardly. "Babysittin' the guild's lookin' like a pretty good Plan B right about now."

.

"Just shut up and stay out of the damn way," Laxus hissed impatiently. "If future Fairy Tail's in danger, that means Lilian is too."

.

Gajeel ground his teeth with the force of a rage similar to the one Laxus was currently harbouring for the venture to come. "Yea… I get that," he rumbled slowly. His heart raced as he watched the circle illuminate between Levy and Neirah as they joined hands in its centre. "But even if she wasn't in danger, you know I'd still stand here."

.

Laxus raised his gaze appreciatively to where Gajeel lingered by his side, a friendly smile curling his lips. The men had come a long way from the day they'd first met, something that he was humbly reminded of every now and then. There was a reason Gajeel stood as the best man at his wedding and it wasn't just because he was Neirah's brother. Gajeel was just as much his brother as he was hers. When danger was on either doorstep, the other was always quick to help.

.

The men flinched with the expulsion of magical energy rattling the cupboards around them as Levy and Neirah expelled it in sync. "Jeez… did we have to do this in the kitchen?" Laxus uttered edgily.

.

Neirah didn't open her eyes as she answered his question. "If what Lyra says is true and magic is banned from use in the future, we can't risk anyone seeing it being cast. Hopefully, like Lyra's spell, my magic will have us jump in time, but stay within the walls of our house in the future."

.

Gajeel tied a band of fabric around his head with a decisive tug on either end, a sinister grin on his lips. "We don't gotta hold hands like that too, do we?" He grunted in pain with Laxus' stern jab to his ribs.

.

 _Budddy._

.

"Enough!" The girls demanded simultaneously, silencing their men with their passion.

.

"Are you ready, Levy?" Neirah demanded over the howling of energy around them.

.

"I am! I just hope I get the dialect right!" She added worrisomely. "Now!"

.

"Saila sept vect'ail ru; fre'sul!" They chanted in sync, the language of demons on their lips.

.

"Break fabrics of space and time for the wings of the infinite!" Levy demanded while watching light engulf the room through a determined expression. She expelled a laboured cry before throwing her arms out to either side, igniting the circle in a blinding glow of Alra'Bekthian runes.

.

Neirah opened her golden, reptilian gaze throwing her palms down in front of her like she was driving her magic through the floor. "Dragon slayer secret art!" She growled through barred teeth, her body wracked with the force it took her to keep her magic from spreading through the entire house. She winced, checking on Levy quickly to make sure the woman was confident in her part of the casting. She remained unshakable in strained reserve.

.

"Mommy?"

.

Neirah's breath caught as she shot her gaze towards the kitchen doorway to where her little girl stared back at her nervously. Her expression immediately fumbled. "Lyra?"

.

"Juvia is sorry!" Juvia rushed out apologetically upon joining the girl's side. "She heard the commotion and crawled from bed!"

.

Neirah's heart sank as Juvia pulled Lyra towards her thighs, keeping the child far away from the light in which she marvelled. In her next breath, she felt Laxus' hand in hers, gently encouraging the task at hand. She sealed her eyes, knowing that the time they spent away would be an effort to save her daughter a cold fate. "Wings of the infinite's time rift-!" Neirah demanded, shaking the pained tears from her sealed eyes.

.

Levy threw her arms down into the floor like Neirah's, the lines of dark language lifting from her skin to join with the bright runes in the air. "By the law of demon script!"

.

"Kho'Misika N'Ahrai!"

.

Juvia tried to keep from shaking with her disbelief as she picked Lyra up into her arms, her wide gaze trembling as she turned away from the emptied kitchen. "C-come now, Lyra… Your mother and father will return to you soon," Juvia whispered softly.

.

Lyra silently looked over Juvia's shoulder to where nothing lay against the floor but the marks Levy had made on the tiles. Her whisper was gentle and sincere as she offered it against Juvia's dress. "Good luck, mommy…"


	3. The Cat with the Twisted Whiskers

_**The Cat with the Twisted Whiskers**_

* * *

.

.

The silent air of Magnolia rang with distressed cries as four wizards from the past unexpectedly plummeted through time and sky alike into the future. "Not good!" Levy cried out in alarm. "Shadow?!"

.

Neirah whimpered as she tried to secure her wings between her shoulders with her magic, but it had taken everything she had to get them where they were. Neither of the women expected a fall. "I… I've got nothing left," Neirah admitted in panic. She sealed her eyes tight with a distressed cry. "It took all I had just to get us here!"

.

"Crap… Some flyin' cats would come in mighty handy right about now!" Gajeel growled, scrambling around mid-flight. "And that ground's gettin' awfully close!"

.

Laxus shifted his alert gaze to the rubble they approached on their descending, and before the ground would have him, he grabbed onto one of the beams to slow his approach before he was expelling effort to land on his feet with no more than an exasperated grunt of impact. He watched Gajeel strike the ground next to him as he slowly straightened, his expression dim and unsympathetic as the iron dragon groaned in the crater he'd created upon meeting the earth. Laxus quickly shifted his attention as Neirah's uncertain cries grew near. He stepped over the mess that was Gajeel and threw his arms out to catch his wife before the ground had a chance at coping a feel.

.

Gajeel scrambled to his feet, goose-eggs be damned, and threw his fist out towards the cinematic couple. "Damn it! Why do you always have to be so damn cool!? Take a fall for once and stop makin' the rest of us look so bad!"

.

Laxus and Neirah blinked back at Gajeel as the piercing screams of Levy cut the iron dragon's fury. "Waaaahhhhh! GAAAJEEEEL!"

.

"Hm?" Gajeel tipped his gaze skyward as Levy sailed down towards them, his expression paling in terror.

.

Laxus and Neirah tipped their bewildered gazes to the mass that had become the pair when Levy crashed into her husband, sending them both into the ground. "Ow…" Levy groaned grimly and rubbed her burning backside. "Well… that was graceful."

.

"Yea..." Gajeel grumbled weakly, trying to crawl out from under Levy's presence. "We… we gotta do this… again sometime…"

.

Neirah laughed weakly as she was set back delicately against the ground, but before she could make it too far, she was relying on Laxus' assistance to keep upright. "Sorry to disappoint you, Screwball, but I don't think we'll be doing this again for a very long time…"

.

Laxus gently curled his fingers around her head, stroking her windblown tresses out of her face. "You ok?"

.

Neirah turned to face Laxus with a sheepish smile, her expression heavy with exhaustion. "I'll be fine… It's just been a while since I attempted anything like this…" She sighed and melted into his comforting embrace. "If it weren't for Levy, we wouldn't have made it at all."

.

Gajeel was growling impatiently with the mushy display between Laxus and his little sister when a piercing glare from Levy had his blood chilling submissively. "Whoa, what the heck is that for?!"

.

"I'm the one that fell on my head and he asks her if _SHE'S_ ok," Levy scolded irately. "Well? Aren't you going to ask me?!"

.

"Uhm…" Gajeel blinked at her nervously. "Are you…"

.

"No, I'm not ok, you thoughtless brute!" She scolded him heatedly and swatted his arm. "Maybe try learning a thing or two from this little trip of ours!" She threw her nose up in the air and turned away with a curt scoff.

.

Gajeel flexed his fist, scrambling to his feet impatiently. "Alright, Blondie," he hissed. He shook his fist in Laxus' face, seething jealous rivalry. Laxus opened one eye and looked back at Gajeel's display as the frantic iron dragon lashed out at him. "You may have points for husband-of-the-year, but I'm still super dad! Got it?!"

.

"Laxus…" The men immediately turned their gaze to where Neirah uttered her shrill whimper in utter disdain.

.

In response, Laxus' eyes widened and his heart stopped as he looked out over the smoking mass that was once the city of Magnolia. Flames licked the rubble of where structure used to stand, charred skeletons of the homes around them standing scarred with the marks of war under a crimson sky. "We… did this…?" Laxus rumbled hoarsely. He tried desperately to force a breath from inside the aching walls of his chest, but it caught with his sudden realisation and his hands started to tremble.

.

Neirah let out a sharp cry and dropped to her knees, holding her hands in front of her gasping lips. "This… we're…"

.

"Exactly where we stood before we cast the spell…" Levy mewled softly. She laid her fingertips gently against the top of Neirah's head as the heartbroken mother sobbed.

.

"H-home…" Laxus forced out breathlessly.

.

* * *

.

"Lyra, wake up…" Erza stroked the girl's tousled locks with soft, murmuring encouragement. "You must eat something."

.

Lyra sat up slowly and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "I-I can't…" She whimpered softly, curling in on herself as she removed her head from Erza's lap. "I don't feel well…"

.

"Maybe that is because you aren't eating," Erza offered softly. She slipped a piece of bread into the little girl's hands. "You have to stay strong if you want to find your brother."

.

Lyra's tears rolled down her face and to the dusty offering as she munched on the dry loaf. Her soft and heartbroken whisper was weak, but just as piercing as a strong one. "Momma's bread is better…" She let the tears fall a little longer before she sniffed them back and wiped her dirty little arm across her face. "She made… all sorts of treats for us." A heart-wrenching smile crossed her lips with her thoughts before she continued. "Daddy would steal all the best ones and hide them for himself… and then we'd tell on him and mommy would make him… give them… ba-"

.

Erza's eyes grew weak and glossy as she watched Lyra try to laugh, only to end up choking on the dry bread she was trying to eat. "Here, drink," Erza encouraged.

.

"Master-Daddy loved momma's cookies so much… He'd try to steal them all… He loved… h-he loved momma… so much…"

.

Erza silently clutched the child's head to her breast as she coughed out weak little whimpers of gratitude. Erza gently wiped away the tears starting to join the various, jagged scars along her face from the battles that had destroyed Magnolia.

.

Erza had known how much Laxus had loved his wife, she knew how much they had been through together, how much they had sacrificed to remain together. If Laxus were forced to choose between his family and the air he breathed, he would smile his last few breaths by their side before death slowly took him.

.

But he had changed.

.

The brutally savage shadow of their former guild master running rampant through the continent was nothing short of a nightmare given the breaths Laxus surrendered for his family. Her body, in particular, harboured more scars that she could count in defence of the monster he'd become. She wasn't necessarily opposed by his magic, but by the destruction that was left in his wake. It was endless.

.

Neirah had become no better. Strangely enough, though, she was less of a beast than her husband, and she was the dragon born. Luckily for Fiore's kingdom, she didn't take her true form once. Instead, her conceited air of superiority had reminded her of a forgotten alias. Now, the Infinity Empress ruled had plunged half of the kingdom under her dark command, forcing even the kingdom's military resistance to surrender their resistance. Together, the continent's once perfect, fairytale couple had become a plague among the land and lived for one purpose; to rid the world of each other.

.

'I'll do everything in my power to help you find your brother…' Erza silently promised herself. 'But your mother and father as you knew them… are gone…'

.

* * *

.

"Mistress."

.

Despite the hot amber flecks in her reptilian gaze, it couldn't be any colder as she turned and faced the woman approaching her rear. "What is it, Levy?"

.

The petite woman dressed in gothic black approached swiftly, according to the rapid clicking of her heeled boots. "I have a lead on the other refugees from Fairy Tail's ruin," Levy informed sternly. She proudly took her place at Neirah's side as they joined and pattered down the stone corridor in sync. "Lisanna and Elfman were seen sneaking provisions into Hargeon."

.

"And that city has been destroyed," Neirah crooned thoughtfully. She turned to look out one of the monstrous breaks in the stone of her fortress.

.

"Yes," Levy added with a sharp and decisive nod. She flipped her long cerulean locks back over her shoulder. "Which leads me to believe that is where they are hiding."

.

Neirah postured, looking down her nose into the rocky, desecrated plain expanding towards the horizon. Her crimson gown rustled in the breeze sweeping past them, her thigh-high leather boots grinding with the flex in her stance. "Then the queen rat has led her pack underground," Neirah snarled wrathfully. "Lisanna and Elfman wouldn't be from her side." She quickly turned to face Levy. "What about Erza Scarlet?"

.

"Jailed," Levy informed swiftly. She flashed some of her papers towards her master with an uncharacteristically sinister smirk. "She was captured by the magic council while aiding in the escape of allied forces." Levy flipped quizzically through her notes. "And there are still no reports of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia's whereabouts."

Levy didn't flinch as Neirah threw an iron fist through the pillar at her side without as much as a second thought. "That traitor," she hissed venomously. "He has thrown his lot in with **_HIM_**."

"Old allegiances die hard. But it is odd that he hasn't made a fuss either way. He certainly hasn't ever been known for his stealth. It's more likely that he is secreting another rebel faction," Levy added. She followed close by Neirah's side as they started to rush down the hall. "His presence is not an easy one to conceal."

.

"This is _UNACCEPTABLE_!" Neirah roared furiously. "The Infinity Empress should hold the leash on every dragon in the continent! I would have them all at my disposal for the war to come…"

.

"I would see it done," Levy agreed promptly. She turned her darkening hazel gaze towards the frustrated empress. "Another matter presses though," she continued hurriedly. "Cana and I ran into some interference on our travels. It looks like Freed has been setting traps around our borders."

.

Neirah craned her golden gaze around venomously with Levy's remark. "What can they hope to gain by this?"

.

"The only thing I can think of is that they're whittling our numbers down in preparation for a frontal assault. If I hadn't of been there, they would have no doubt taken Cana prisoner. His enchantments grow more complex, though, and it has become difficult for me to keep up."

.

"What do you require of me?" Neirah rumbled gently.

.

"Permission to gather forces and retake the archives." The script user did not hesitate in reply. "It's all I need to keep tabs on his advances."

.

"Done," Neirah agreed decisively. "Take Pantherlily and see to it that we disarm as many of these hindrances as possible. I will not have that barbaric creature out-strategizing us."

.

Levy gave a sharp nod, stalling their advance. "And what of Rogue and Sting who have recently returned from scouting southern terrain?"

.

Neirah looked down on her ally confidently. "I would have them by my side should enemy forces try to push through our defence."

.

"It will be done, Mistress," Levy cooed obediently. The women quickly pressed their lips to one another's in a hard kiss before Levy started swiftly off in the opposite direction.

.

Neirah turned and took her place against her golden throne, watching daylight retreat beyond the horizon as she folded one of her lean legs elegantly over the other. "Just try it, you beast," she hissed to the thin, mountainous air around her.

.

* * *

.

"Master!" Freed demanded frantically, hustling through the dimming guild's halls towards where his old ally was hunched over in silent contemplation.

.

"We got trouble boss!" Bickslow demanded equally as alarmed.

.

Before the men could approach, a darkly clad crop bearer was dropping her whip before them to cease their approach. "Juvia will decide what constitutes the declaration of 'trouble'," she snarled impatiently. The act of halting their progression left her master to meditate on his thoughts, but anyone with eyes could see the rage and tension threatening to unleash at any moment.

.

"Laxus! You can't be serious!" Freed defended helplessly. "How can you allow her to walk freely when she's come from the enemy's clutches?!"

.

Freed cried out in utter agony as he was struck by the spontaneous combustion of crimson lighting above him, the merciless strike sending him back across the guild hall floor.

.

"Freed!" Bickslow cried out worrisomely.

.

Laxus' deep scarlet gaze flashed open and rolled lethargically to one side. Silently observing the clamouring in his midst, he slowly climbed to his feet, his adjusting muscles straining against skin bearing far more tribal marks than before.

.

"Juvia is the only one that knows how that snake operates," Juvia announced coldly. Her dark navy gaze flashed as she glared down her fair nose at the trembling heap Laxus had dismissed. "Maybe if you two had more of her knowledge you wouldn't be scampering away from her fangs like rodents!"

.

Freed trembled hesitantly as he struggled to remain conscious in Bickslow's grasp. The Juvia before them was far from the kind woman who once claimed herself to be Neirah's sister. Nothing seemed real anymore. Everyone was changing, it seemed, and it sickened him.

.

Laxus snarled raggedly, detached from the pain of his followers. The hot flash in his gaze was moments from seeking further punishment for the ignorance of his subjects when Juvia held her arm out against his chest to halt his advance. "Juvia can handle this on her own, Master," Juvia raged in derangement. A demon-like flash illuminated her dark gaze. "That witch took my beloved Gray from this world!" She bellowed her wrath to the sound of cascading blades circling with the cyclone of her fury. "I will see to it that she is delivered to the most tormented of ends!"

.

* * *

.

"Auntie…" Lyra whimpered softly, rustling beneath her plush lavender comforter.

.

"Yes, Lyra, Auntie is here," Juvia cooed softly from where she sat at Lyra's bedside with her hands in her lap.

.

"I had a bad dream," she whispered gently. She crawled up against Juvia's thigh and buried her face in the fair woman's lap.

.

"Would you like Auntie to get you a glass of warm milk?" Juvia smiled down at the girl as she nodded her little golden head. "Stay here, safe in your bed, and Auntie will bring you a glass of milk. She promised your mother that she would keep you safe until her return." Juvia caught her breath as Lyra reached out and grabbed a hold of the woman's skirt hem to keep her from leaving. "Oh? Is something the matter, dear?"

.

"You love momma too, right?"

.

Juvia's brow furrowed softly with her confusion. "O-of course… your mother is very dear to your Auntie. Since she was very small," Juvia stammered out awkwardly. "Why do you ask such things?"

.

Lyra hid her face and quietly crawled back beneath her sheets, breathing her solemn reply in hushed tones. "I had a bad dream…"

.

* * *

.

Gajeel's expression paled as he helped Levy to her feet, their company struck into dumbfounded silence with the sight of the desecrated land around them. "What did you do…?" He rumbled out uncertainly by Laxus' side.

.

"Me?" Laxus defended edgily. "Have you forgotten the little psycho your little sister's capable of bein'?"

.

"Boys, please! I'm not going to ask you again!" Levy interrupted. She quietly held Neirah against her as the woman whimpered through her devastation. "This land is clearly divided enough without us fighting each other."

.

"I still don't get what could have happened to cause all this…" Laxus caught his breath when Neirah crashed into his chest, throwing her arms around him tightly. He forced a hard swallow down his drying throat as he rested his palm against the back of her head. "Neirah…?"

.

"I love you," she whimpered out shrilly. She tightly fisted her hands in his shirt and rocked her head from side to side against him; trying her hardest not to dampen the fabric with her tears. She threw her head back and looked up at him with glistening eyes. "I just… I need you to know that before we-"

.

He quickly pressed his lips to hers in a firm kiss to silence her anxious rattling. When he backed away from her, his expression was stern with determination. "I know," he assured her confidently. "And I know you're scared, we all are…" He held her tight to his chest, one hand gently stroking her hair as he observed the barren landscape that used to be their home. He ground his teeth and backed away from her, casting his gaze her way. "But right now, we need Fairy Tail's Shadow back." He smiled as he took her hood in his hands and slowly raised it up over her head from between her shoulders. "Let's find our daughter, and get the hell back to the way things are supposed to be."

.

She closed her eyes for a long moment to enjoy the affection in the gentle kiss he placed against her brow, and when they flashed open again, she silently promised the absence of tears for the duration of their stay. She looked towards Gajeel and Levy for a moment as they too concealed their presences beneath their hoods. "Laxus, your bag," she encouraged. She quietly held her hands out to receive it. She dug through a pocket before retrieving a strip of gauze, tearing it off with her teeth.

.

"You weren't hurt when we landed were you?" Laxus offered in concern. Levy cast Gajeel an impatient glare with the sentiment.

.

"Of course not," she rushed out upon approaching Gajeel. She reached around his arm and wrapped it with the gauze, hiding his guild mark beneath it.

.

"Uh… thanks? I guess," he stammered out hesitantly.

.

"If what Lyra said is true and two dark guilds remain in force against the Magic Council; our Fairy Tail doesn't exist." She tugged on the bind tightly to secure it before backing away and adjusting her cloak over her breast. "It's not that I want it to be easy for us to blend in with our future selves because the last thing we need is to get mixed up with them. But we'll have a better chance moving about if we're not seen embracing the mark of the tyrants running rampant over the continent."

.

Levy held her hand to her chest apprehensively with her thoughts. "Ehn… am I the only one who gets crazy chills associating 'tyrant' with Laxus and Shadow?"

.

"I get chills just associatin' Laxus and Shadow…" Gajeel admitted gruffly.

.

Laxus slipped his own cloak hood up around his face and turned to look out over the remains of Magnolia. "Ok, now what?" He rumbled anxiously with a heavy sigh. "Lyra said that she hadn't left her room in the letter she sent, but there's nothin' left of home." He looked over his shoulder, observing the staircase leading to nowhere at his back. "Did we screw up?"

.

"No…" Neirah assured him swiftly, taking his side. "We're right where we should be."

.

"How can you be sure?" Gajeel added cautiously. "He's gotta point."

.

"No Gajeel, Shads is right." Levy corrected swiftly. "I found the note Lyra sent moments after she had cast her spell. I watched it bob up out of the water in the past." Levy tipped her determined gaze towards Neirah with a reassuring smile. "Lyra must have been by the same stream when she sent the letter."

.

Laxus took a deep breath, ignoring the scent of decay and brimstone filling his senses as he folded his arms over his chest. "Sounds to me like a damn good place to start."

.

"Alright then," Gajeel agreed at his side. "Let's get movin' before we find out what happened to the city between now and when the kid sent us her message."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Seventy-Two Hours Remaining_**

.

* * *

.

Freed slowly sat up in bed, his body aching from recent wounds he'd suffered at the hands of his guild master, and previously, most treasured friend.

.

"Freed, you're up."

.

"He's up!"

.

"How ya doin' Freed?"

.

Freed turned and looked towards Bickslow, the little totems floating around in his presence a most comforting sight. "Bickslow…"

.

"Yea, I'm here buddy."

.

Freed lowered his gaze to his lap, observing the various bandages his companion had obviously dressed him in. After a humbly silent moment, he quietly shook his head. "What are we doing here?"

.

"Well…" Bickslow started slowly. "We're helpin' Laxus-"

.

Freed silenced Bickslow's response with the look of hurt in his eyes. "Helping him what?"

.

"Uh…"

.

"You have to admit… this is strange… even for Laxus." Freed struggled to articulate his sentiment, turning his gaze away from Bickslow's. "Why didn't we leave with Mira and the others? Even Evergreen stayed by Elfman's side as part of the rebel covenant. I know she had children to think about, but didn't he also?"

.

Bickslow scoffed to himself in amusement with Freed's validity. "Y'know, it's been so long since I was allowed to question anythin' that I don't have a clue how to answer that."

.

"You must be capable of admitting that the man currently seeking his wife's life isn't the man we knew. He cherished Neirah above all else. For God's sake, Bickslow, he abandoned his young son and daughter for this!"

.

"That's cool and all…" Bickslow rushed out. "But you saw what he did. There's nothin' we can do now. If we turned our backs on him now, he'd roast us both." Bickslow snorted grimly. "And what he didn't rip apart, Juvia sure as hell would…"

.

"She's a psycho."

.

"Psycho, man…"

.

Freed sighed softly and tipped his gaze back towards his lap. "No… I could never turn my back on the friend I know still exists somewhere inside the monster of what he's become."

.

"You think there's hope then?"

.

"I have to…" Freed whispered softly. "I feel like someone else has clouded his judgment and made him what he is. I agree that leaving would seal both of our fates, but there is a lot we can accomplish under the cat's nose before poking our heads outside the protection of the cracks in the wall."

.

* * *

.

Neirah's gaze frantically scanned the shore of the stream they followed, every bush that rattled with fleeing birds, every shadow that crossed their path belonging to a scurrying hare. "I was resting against that tree when I saw the bottle appear," Levy assured her certainly as she slid her fingers over its bark. "It was in better condition six years ago, that's for sure."

"And no Lyra," Gajeel added curiously. He quickly scanned the area with high suspicions and a tight fist. "But I'll tell you what I'm gettin' a real good whiff of and that's the Magic Council's lackeys…" He narrowed his gaze protectively as his teeth ground and he grew desperate to protect his family.

.

Levy held her hands to her lips uncertainly, catching her startled gasp behind her fingertips. "You don't think they've captured her, do you?"

.

"No… this place is covered with her scent," Neirah whispered frantically. "Lyra!" She cried out to the silent space they occupied. "She's smart, she'd hide." She rushed around with the beat of her racing heart. "LYRA!"

.

"Kid…" Neirah turned around with the sound of Gajeel's raspy voice cutting the unresponsive air to reach her. "It's Lucky…" Neirah's heart dropped in her chest as Gajeel approached and offered her the bloody cat with the twisted whiskers.

.

"Lucky," she whimpered breathlessly. As a result of her promise, she focused on restraining her tears with all of her efforts.

.

"Gajeel and I worked with the magic council for a bit… and there's no doubt…" Levy rushed out gently.

.

"Rayden's got 'er…"

.

Laxus put his arm around Neirah and clutched her to his chest. He tipped his lips to the top of her head as she clutched Lucky tightly between them, closing her eyes to deny the sight of his sorry state. He took a minute to collect his thoughts before his steel gaze was cutting sharply towards Gajeel. But moments before he could open his mouth to speak, Neirah's raging ocean blue gaze pierced the distance between her and her big brother. Her breath was ragged and words dripping with malice as she sneered them through clenched teeth. "Where are they keeping my baby?"

.

* * *

.

Erza winced as she gently peeled back Lyra's bandages, using what little water they were offered to clean the child's wounds. "There are so many people…" Lyra whimpered softly, sitting cross-legged next to Erza's side. "Why are they all here? They don't look mean at all… Would they really join the war?"

.

Erza's brow creased sadly with the girl's questions. "I'm sure they are not, but the council just can't afford to take that chance," Erza assured her gently. She watched through her peripherals as many others cried and clamoured inside their cells. If they possessed magic, they were detained, and as more bodies filled the prisons, accommodations grew bleaker. "They're in here for the same reasons as you and I. We are at war… and wizards can no longer be trusted."

.

"Because of mommy and daddy…"

.

Erza took Lyra by her shoulders and turned the girl to face her. "You mustn't place so much of their weight on your shoulders," she stated firmly. "Lyra, what is happening here has nothing to do with Fairy Tail's Angel…"

.

"I don't want to be Fairy Tail's Angel…" Lyra rushed out in a hoarse whisper. "I want to be theirs…" She turned and looked up at Erza with a distressed look on her gentle features. "Why don't they love us anymore?"

.

Seeing the tears surfacing in her eyes, Erza backed away and offered her a piece of cloth to dab them with. Even though Erza hated the state that their family had found themselves in, she couldn't deny the child her ray of hope. "You probably don't remember the first time that your parents brought you to the guild." She started her story quietly, wrapping her cloth back around Lyra's cleaned wound. "I have known your father for years and I have never seen him so absolutely entranced with anything before." Erza laughed to herself, diverting her gaze with the memories. "He was so proud… He didn't want to let you go. And he was capable of lowering the volume of the entire guild so that they wouldn't wake his sleeping angel." She gently stroked some hair from where the wiry strands clung to her face. "And your mother was so delighted when you spoke your first words. She came to the guild and told us all that we had better cherish our last free moments before the sound of your voice put a spell over us all."

.

"And she was right… any one of us would have given anything to stop your tears." Erza wrapped her arms around the girl as she buried her face against Erza's chest with fretful tears in her eyes. "I wish I could spare you this, Lyra… I cannot justify what has happened between your parents, but they loved you and your brother more than anything…" Erza rested her face against the top of Lyra's head. "I wish I had the answers for you… but I can't deny the things you've seen…"

.

"Rest now," she assured the child gently. "I don't know how, but I will find away to dry these tears. And we _WILL_ find your brother…"

.

Lyra tipped her weary gaze back and smiled up at Erza. "Will you help me save mommy and daddy too?"

.

Erza's heart sank, but she was unwilling to admit to the child that she thought the effort would be in vain. "Yes," she forced out quietly. "I'll do everything I can to-"

.

Erza's instinct was to immediately clutch Lyra's screaming figure to her chest to protect her from the debris falling around them with the tremoring of their cell. "Lyra! Stay down!" She instructed boldly while protecting the child's head. She whirled around to face the rush of guards storming down the corridor with wide and fierce eyes. "What on earth is going on!?"

.

"How could you not notice the similarities?!" Rayden demanded at the lead of his troop. "She is a mirrored image of him!"

.

Erza's wide gaze trembled as she clung to Lyra's whimpering figure tightly. 'He's here,' she thought in terror. She caught her breath and recoiled over the child when a deafening crack of thunder shook the walls around them, the light so bright it illuminated Rayden's horrified expression in front of her. 'No! But why would he come for her now?! After all this time!'

.

"Erza, what's happening?!" Lyra cried out softly.

.

"Quickly! Into the corner!" Erza rushed out authoritatively. "Cover your head and wait for my signal to retreat!" Erza threw her hand out at her side, the scars of her battles past flexing in anticipation. "As soon as this door opens, I will stop at nothing to defend you!"

.

"Solid script!" Levy cried out her command, wrapping her arms around her body. "Fire!" Erza's gaze flashed with the flames licking the path before them, sending Rayden and his men backwards in retreat. "Move!" Levy demanded sternly. "I'll check these ones over here!"

.

'No…' Erza thought dreadfully. She could no longer keep from trembling with her mortification. 'It's the sound of Neirah's lightning?' Erza was aware that Levy had taken Neirah's side in the conflict, but neither of Lyra's parents had sought out their children before that moment. The proof rattled behind her shrilly. Her hands shivered in reflex, waiting for the moment they released the magic keeping her from using her own. "They will not have her!" Erza snarled in determination, watching Levy's shadow approach. She wouldn't let them use Lyra as leverage in the war between the deranged wizards. "Lyra, get ready!"

.

Levy gasped as her gaze met Erza's and she fumbled as quickly as she could with the keys in her hands. "Over here!" Levy cried out. "I found her! And she's with Erza!"

.

Erza's gaze flashed as she heard the tumbler roll over in the lock. "I won't allow you to summon back-up!" She wailed. "REQUIP!" Lyra let out a piercing scream and closed her eyes as Erza lunged forwards, sword in hand. Levy's expression paled, her eyes widening in utter terror. "I won't stand for another tear!"

.

Levy's scream was almost as sharp as the sound of steel ringing against an iron defence. Erza caught her breath, letting her wrathful gaze clear in disbelief as Gajeel stood firmly between her and Levy. "G-Gajeel…" Erza stammered out trembling words, tears immediately bubbling in her eyes as she fell backwards a step.

.

"Gee, real good to see you too," he grumbled gruffly. He reformed his hand in the doorway with an unimpressed look on his rough features. "Is the kid alright?"

.

Levy caught her breath and rushed past Erza as the woman dropped her sword to the floor, listening to its shrill rattle against the cold stone beneath. "Lyra, you have no idea how good it is to see that you're ok!" Lyra didn't move as Levy embraced her, her bright eyes wide and trembling as she watched Gajeel carefully in the prison cell doorway. Noticing, Levy backed away and looked down at her in concern. "Lyra…?"

.

Lyra slowly turned her gaze to face Levy, her heart aching as she stared back at her godmother with silent tears streaming over dusty cheeks. "You came," she breathed out weakly. "You found it… my note… Y-you came for us."

.

Levy's expression faltered in concern with the little girl's words; words that she had yet to hear the girl speak in the past that they existed in. She turned and looked over her shoulder to where Erza had collapsed in front of Gajeel, her expression pale and uncertain. In her moment of panic, Levy turned back to face Lyra, struggling with her words for her indecision. "What… what makes you think we were summoned by your note…?" Levy started breathlessly.

.

"Uncle Gajeel…" Levy's heart dropped in her chest as the little girl pointed her finger out towards Gajeel, causing the man to flinch with guilt. Levy's gaze couldn't be any more ghastly vacant as Erza whispered the words past her lips.

.

"But you're… dead."


	4. Reunited

_**Reunited**_

* * *

.

.

Rayden rushed out of the building with what few men were spared Gajeel's wrath. "This is unacceptable!" His roar was piercing as he ducked to avoid being struck by a man catapulting through the air. "Where is Circa!?" His question was quickly answered when the man in question struck his back at Rayden's feet, an agonised curse on his lips.

.

"I didn't expect this," Circa forced out softly. He weakly staggered to his feet with his chief's aid.

.

"Erza Scarlet's cell has been breached," Rayden added urgently. "Our cause is lost here! If we continue to resist, there will be nothing and no one left!"

.

"They're just as merciless as ever…"

.

Rayden flinched in utter terror. " _'They'_?"

.

"They've combined forces for some strange reason," Circa informed. He hissed an agonised breath through his teeth, adjusting with a whimper as Rayden offered him his shoulder. "I can only theorise it has something to do with that little girl you pulled out of Magnolia."

.

"That was their _daughter_! Listen, if I had any idea, I wouldn't have let them take her along with the others!" Rayden defended hurriedly. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault! I brought them right to the council's door!"

.

"Well they didn't give a damn about the girl up until now," Circa sneered disdainfully. He winced with the increasing pressure of his wounds. "And they're striking back as a team that shows no sign of the division they've endured these past months."

.

"Come on… we have to get out of here. We don't possess a force strong enough to combatant them," Rayden rushed out quickly. With a determined grimace, he straightened in command with his co-captain in tote. "We have to take our remaining forces and retreat before countless lives are lost!"

.

The men cried out simultaneously as a crack of violet lightning intercepted their retreat. It was a lean strand of black electricity at first, silent as it flashed, but moments later it had become a thick and devastating pillar of desecration that obliterated everything it touched. The sheer force of its approach sent both men toppling to the ground. Before they had a chance to flee the scene, the dark silhouette of a lean woman was coming up from the shadows that stretched at their feet. The next crash of thunder darkened her form, but her identity was unmistakable. Bright cracks of lilac static leapt from her skin as she glared at them through lifeless and illuminated amethyst eyes. "You have three seconds to tell me where my children are," she snarled vehemently. With the rattling of the hesitant men, she took her first step towards them. "And know that any harm that has befallen them will be mirrored onto the flesh of those responsible." Her fierce gaze flashed with intent as her ragged breaths rocked her bare chest. "One."

.

Mistaking Neirah of the past for the one in the future they knew, the men were quick to try and retreat. The Neirah of the future was arrogant and maniacal, not nearly so primal. Her adjustment in ferocity was alarming. To their dismay, the moment they were on their feet, their path was blocked by a broad and equally impatient lightning dragon. Laxus glowered down at the men, arms folded over his chest as he waited for their clamouring response. "If you think that you can escape me in the time it takes her to hit three, you got another thing comin' pal."

.

The commander's face paled with the sound of Laxus' voice, something no one had heard in quite some time. They had no idea whether they should take that as a good sign or a bad one. "If you seek the girl, she has already seen release!" Rayden struggled to remain authoritative as he spoke, belittled by the towering man. "Retrieve her and leave this place!"

.

Circa reached out against the ache in his wounded arm towards the man he was sure had lost his mind. "Rayden! Don't be a fool!"

.

Circa trembled meekly as Rayden brushed him off and spread his arms out in surrender. "If someone must be held accountable for the child's capture, let it be me! Leave the others! They are no threat to you!"

.

Neirah flinched, her breath hitching hesitantly with the sight of a once bold man trembling in their wake like they were a set of unstoppable demons. She watched Laxus flinch towards him before her hand was fading to human once more as it reached out and rested against his arm. "Laxus," she encouraged softly. "They think we're…"

.

He cast his gaze her way, receiving her unspoken message to release them without any further harm. It infuriated him to think that the council was rashly imprisoning wizards, but at the same time, if they were so afraid of the magic possessed in this world, he also considered that maybe there was a reason. He turned his fierce glare back to the Magic Council members as they scrambled to dodge the strike of lightning crashing down among them in warning. "If you so much as think about crossing my family again, my wife will be the least of your concerns."

.

* * *

.

Levy's world was spinning as she watched Lyra retreat like she had just offered the woman a great insult. "I'm so sorry, Auntie," she whispered breathlessly. But no matter how terrible Levy felt for making the nervous girl fret about, she couldn't bring herself to absorb what she'd just been told about her future in a meagre six years.

.

"I don't understand… How is this happening?" Erza stammered out weakly. She was suddenly ashamed of her pathetic state of being, her scars and bruises.

.

"Lyra… She sent a letter to back in time just before she was captured by the Magic Council and brought here," Levy explained while simultaneously trying to rearrange her thoughts. "When we heard what had happened, we did anything we could to make it."

.

"We've come to get the full story," Gajeel interrupted swiftly. He was still a little concerned about his future's wellbeing, but priorities. "We get that far, there's a chance we can stop it all from happenin' in the past."

.

Erza shook her head sadly, tears rising in her eyes. "It was awful…" Erza started weakly. "Life was wonderful and perfect for so long… then it was just like a rift opened up above Magnolia and rained chaos upon us."

.

Erza shuttered as she recalled the fresh flames and the sight of allies turned enemy. "It wasn't just Lyra's parents that were affected, but they were certainly the cause of the war. It was like suddenly, nothing else mattered to them other than taking each other's lives, and it came out of nowhere. Some of the other wizards were affected by it too… and took sides in the conflict. Those of us who didn't, went into hiding to avoid the destruction unfolding before us," she bowed her head ruefully. "It wasn't long before the Magic Council tried to intervene, but nothing seemed to get in their way… They were always strong wizards before, but something enhanced all of their abilities like nothing I've ever seen. It's hard to believe it was just emotion. I don't know what on earth could have made them act that way, to turn their back on everything they once cherished, but they weren't so preoccupied with ending each other, none of us would be standing here…"

.

* * *

.

"This way! I can hear them!" Neirah's rushed steps almost drowned out her words as she stormed the corridor, Laxus close on her heels. "Hurry, before they call our bluff and figure out we're not the bad guys!"

.

"Maybe that's a good thing," Laxus encouraged. "Maybe they'll back off if they think we're here to help."

.

"Laxus, my children are in danger," she snapped back edgily. "Momma dragon's not playing by anyone else's rules for this. If so much as a single hair on my daughter's beautiful head is broken, I will make the future me look like a forest fairy in comparison."

.

"Point…"

.

* * *

.

"By chance, have you come across Alex?" Levy encouraged softly.

.

"No…" Erza admitted with a humble tremble. "I was captured when I tried to ward off the Magic Council on my own. Jellal and the others… I can only imagine he's since rendezvoused with Mira and what remains of Fairy Tail."

.

"What about Lily!?" Gajeel demanded in alarm. "Have you heard anything about where she is?"

.

Erza looked up at him sadly, a cloud of anguish washing over her expression. "The last time anyone saw her… she was with you… before…" Erza choked back her reply and turned away, forcing Gajeel's expression pale.

.

"Before what…?"

.

Levy caught a tear as it escaped her eye. "Before you died." She didn't bother watching Erza slowly bob her head in agreement.

.

Erza cried out softly in surprise as Gajeel lurched forwards and took her by the shoulders urgently. "Well!? Come on, red, spill it! What the hell happened to me!?"

.

Gajeel flinched, slowly backing away from Erza with Lyra's guidance. After he had released the woman, Lyra buried her face in his lap with an apologetic whimper. "I'm sorry, Uncle Gajeel…"

.

His expression softened as he reached down and took his fretful niece into his arms, hoisting her up against his chest. "Gee kid, just like yer mom. What could you _ever_ have to be sorry for?"

.

His gaze widened in bewilderment as the little girl's gentle whimpers met his shoulder. "Daddy did it," she squeaked out sorrowfully. "Daddy killed Uncle Gajeel."

.

Gajeel stumbled backwards out of the cell, watching Lyra curl back up mournfully with the women.

.

"Gajeel!" He whirled on his heels to face where Neirah and Laxus had joined them, but before they could rush passed, he put an arm out to stop them. Neirah cast her concerned gaze to where Gajeel denied her his expression. "Hey… what's wrong…?"

.

"One at a time," he rumbled out softly upon allowing Neirah to pass. "The kid's pretty shook up…" He didn't bother to look up into the eyes that rained teardrops onto his arm as Neirah slipped by him, he had other things on his mind.

.

Neirah rounded the corner and dropped to her knees with a delighted cry. "Lyra! You're safe, thank heavens!"

.

"Momma?!" Lyra squirmed free of Levy's grasp and ran into her mother's arms with grateful tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry momma, I didn't know what to do!"

.

"Oh my sweet baby girl, you did the right thing," Neirah whispered against her golden locks. "Lyra, I'm so proud of you. You were very brave to try and reach us."

.

Erza's heart raced as she observed the reunion. "Neirah came with you?" She whispered discretely.

.

Levy nodded swiftly in agreement. "They both did."

.

Laxus watched Gajeel suspiciously for a long moment, waiting anxiously to hold his daughter in his arms. His grip on his folded arms flexed impatiently as he watched Gajeel linger on dark thoughts. "What's your problem?"

.

Laxus' skin crawled when he heard Gajeel's reply, absent the man's complete attention. "You gotta problem with me…?" He rumbled sternly, differently than he might've if he were picking a playful fight.

.

Laxus' brow creased inquisitively with his suspicions and he grew curious as to why the restless iron dragon refused to make eye contact with him. "Lots, but nothin' I'd kill you over," he teased wryly. He watched Gajeel's hand flex at his side like he'd been insulted by their normally harmless banter. "So?"

.

Gajeel slowly raised his head but kept his gaze detoured from his company. "Then I don't gotta problem," he offered gently. 'Yet…'

.

"Momma, I was so scared! Everything changed so fast, and then Alex left and never came back. I still can't find him! I don't know where he is… I'm sorry, momma, I looked everywhere!"

.

"Shh, Lyra sweetie, it's ok," Neirah crooned. "We're here now and we're going to help make everything better."

.

"You have to," Lyra whimpered softly. She pulled her teary gaze from against her mother. "For Uncle Gajeel… and everyone else that didn't make it."

.

"Didn't mak- Lyra what are you saying?" Neirah stammered out weakly. Her chest immediately swelled with anxiety.

.

"I don't know why daddy did it… Something must have made him… Uncle Gajeel didn't do anything wrong…"

.

Neirah turned her wide-eyed expression to Levy and Erza. "Are you saying that Laxus is responsible for taking Gajeel's life in the future?!"

.

Gajeel shifted his peripheral gaze to where Laxus had nearly choked on his breath alongside him. He hadn't seen tears on his friend's face since they day he had held his dying wife in his arms, but hearing his daughter try and justify the deeds of the monster he'd become obviously broke his heart. He wanted to reach out and stop Laxus from passing him by, but there was a foreboding aura around the man that promised death to the hand who tried to keep him from his family any longer. With the news they had all just received, he wasn't going to push his luck.

.

"I promise you that daddy would never do that," Neirah mused affectionately in an effort to comfort the rattled child. "He loves your uncle as much as we do. He would never hurt him." Neirah's heart stopped as the girl fled back in terror, a soft whimper on her lips. Neirah quickly turned to see what had startled her, only to be dismayed at the sight of Laxus in the doorway. Hot tears rolled over her face to see Laxus in a similar state. Lyra had always thought the world of her father, they had been best friends since the child's birth, so watching her flinch like a stray that had been kicked one too many times shattered the resolve of everyone in the room.

.

Laxus had wanted a little girl more than anything after Alex was born. He was completely overcome by the news announced the day his wife's life was spared that she had been carrying that little girl all along. Since then, Lyra had become his angel, the heavenly body that returned the light to his world. There wasn't a night he wasn't kept an hour after Lyra's bedtime, reading to her until she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. He was her hero… to feel like the villain again tore him up inside.

.

Lyra tipped her wide and traumatised gaze towards her mother for guidance. "Daddy came with us," Neirah assured her gently. She was too devastated by the girl's reaction to his presence to manage much else.

.

"And he's here to protect his angel from her nightmares…" Lyra's first step was weak and tentative as she took it towards him, but soon, she was running into his arms with a beaming smile on her face. Her toes weren't long on the ground and he was hauling her up against him, clutching her tightly in his arms. He buried his face in her bloodstained hair and held the back of her head tightly in his embrace. "That's all this is... a bad dream." His trembling gaze rested on his wife for strength before he sighed relief and diverted it to the floor as his tears started to fall. He'd never been so sorry in all his life and he didn't even know what he'd done yet. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," he whispered feebly against her shoulder. "Not even if it's me…"

.

"I missed you so much…" Lyra whined energetically. "I was scared you forgot about us. I was so scared daddy."

.

Neirah climbed to her feet and joined her husband, resting a hand on either of them. "I promise you we'll make this right," she whispered soothingly. She closed her eyes with a trembling sigh, placing a gentle kiss on the girl's damp brow. "But first we have to get out of here before trouble finds us." Neirah turned and looked over her shoulder to where Erza was just starting to come out of shock. It had been a long time since the woman had seen the Dreyar's act as a picture-perfect family, it had been a long time since she'd laid eyes on Gajeel. "We need to know exactly what happened and when if we're going to try and fix this," Neirah assured her gently. "Erza… will you come with us?"

.

Erza trembled for a long moment before nodding her head. "Yes," she agreed. "And whatever Lyra and I can't tell you, I'm sure the other's can." She allowed Levy to help her up before continuing. "And I know where they're hiding."

.

Laxus looked down at his daughter, gently wiping the tear streaks from her rosy cheeks. He was happiest just standing there holding her, but he was still one child short. Fairy Tail's prince was still missing and he was becoming more desperately aggressive when he considered that the pieces of his heart were so divided in the bleak future they found themselves within. His expression was dark with determination when he turned it back to meet Erza's. "Take us."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Sixty-Five Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Neirah gently combed her fingers through her daughter's tangled hair as the child slept peacefully in her lap for the first time since the war had begun. Her eyes were burning with the presence of tears that wanted to keep falling. "I wish it were true," Neirah murmured gently. "I wish we could all just wake up. I don't know if I have what it takes to watch my friends and family suffer any longer…"

.

"We've prayed for that for months," Erza offered sadly. She ran her hands self-consciously over her scarred arms. "Fighting for survival is one thing… but trying to defend yourself against the people you once loved…"

.

"It's ok," Levy whispered softly. She took Erza's hand as the woman's tears started to fall, and even though it pained her to watch such a strong and proud woman rain her broken pieces down her dirty face, she still smiled comfort. "We're here to help."

.

"I just hope Alex is with the others in Hargeon," Neirah murmured gently. "I'm so worried about him."

.

Laxus reached out and slipped his fingers between hers to hold her hand, but when she turned to face him, his gaze remained distant in silent contemplation. She knew that the situation was probably still tearing him apart on the inside, but they didn't have time to mourn the loss of something that they had yet to lose.

.

"I'm sure he's fine," Erza comforted her softly. "I don't know how far in the past you came from, but the last time I saw Alex he was as strong-willed as ever. His magic was getting to be quite formidable. I'm sure he can look after himself."

.

"I'm not concerned," Laxus rumbled edgily. He slowly turned to face the conversation as he lowered his fist from his jaw. "If he's with the others and walking on his own, I'm gonna kick his ass for leavin' his baby sister alone in a damned war zone."

.

"Laxus!" Neirah scolded him in hushed tones.

.

"Hey, we got our kids waitin' at home safe and sound. And you can't tell me that your brother would have ever done the same. Gajeel would have torn through the fabrics of space and time with a damn sword to kick his own ass for being such an idiot."

.

"Laxus, he's fourteen… I'm sure he's trying his best."

.

Laxus closed his eyes to deny the pitiful sight of his daughter curled up in his wife's lap. "It kills me to have to watch this, but we gotta remember that we're here to get the truth and make it back to the kids we've got back home." His fingers almost trembled as he reached out and slipped they bloody lowlights in his daughter's hair from her face. "These little guys are nothing but shadows of something we gotta fix. We do that, and none of this is going to happen."

.

"It's going to be hard… leaving her behind even once we learn the truth," Neirah whispered weakly. "She's still my daughter."

.

"I promise you I'll protect her once you leave… for as long as these memories take to fade," Erza assured Neirah gently. She somberly lowered her soft, vulnerable gaze. "But the Master is right… The four of you have to survive this or there is no hope for your futures. Your children's futures. It may stop all this from happening, but it will destroy the guild to lose you in the past where everything is still innocent. Everyone will still suffer…"

.

"Master." Neirah choked on her sentiment even as a small smile curled her lips. "Master-Daddy…"

.

Laxus did his best to soften his exhausted and grizzled expression as he raised his weary gaze to Erza's. "You don't have to call me that here," Laxus murmured quietly. He heaved a hefty sigh and shifted his gaze into the flicker of flames warming their humble party. "It's pretty obvious that I screwed up bad if this is the outcome. It must just kill you to-"

.

The group flinched when Erza made a noise that sounded almost like a laugh. "Quite the opposite, actually," she teased. "Up until a year ago when all of this started to happen, you were an excellent guild master."

.

Neirah smiled proudly towards her husband as his bashful features were swiftly diverted and concealed behind his supporting palm.

.

Erza's smile became tender as she continued. "Seeing you all here fills me with great hope. It comforts me to know my family back home hasn't forgotten about us." Erza smiled as she met Laxus' sheepish gaze head on. "Your grandfather would be very proud."

.

Laxus gently scoffed his next breath and filled it with amusement. "Like this night couldn't get any more depressing," he teased. "I wish the old man was still kickin' around… He'd have this fixed already."

.

Neirah smiled tenderly and laid her hand on his thigh. "Don't worry, daddy," she reassured. "We'll figure it out…"

.

Levy started to tune out the conversation as she looked past the flicker of their fire to where Gajeel had isolated himself to 'take watch'. With a dismissive smile, she slowly slipped away from their group and made her way to her husband's side. He had been really quiet since he had discovered that the life of his future self had been ended by one of his closest friends. She knew the two bickered like rivals, on occasion. It came with the fact that Laxus was still married to Gajeel's little sister. But the two of them had a strong bond when push came to shove and she knew that in the past she existed in, both would gladly take the fall for the other. "Gajeel?" Levy whimpered gently. She quietly took a seat on the dewy grass alongside him. "Are you worried about Lilian?"

.

"I'm worried 'bout a lotta things," he rumbled softly. He glanced her way for a brief moment as she joined him before staring out into the still night.

.

Levy looked down between them before resting her palm reassuringly on his knee, giving it a gentle rub. "You heard Laxus… Lily is safe at home with Pantherlily and Juvia. All we have to do is make it back to her." Levy flinched with his derisive scoff.

.

"Laxus…"

.

Levy's brow knotted with his dismal groan barely articulating the other man's name. "Gajeel, this Laxus would still lay his life on the line for you. You can't reprimand him for crimes he hasn't committed."

.

Gajeel groaned his submission to his tiny wife's sound logic. "I'll admit, that threw me for one, that's fer damn sure," he admitted vaguely. "And I hate goin' back to this, you know? Feelin' like I can't trust him. He's been damn good to Shads all these years. We've been through a lot together…" He sighed and wrapped his arm around his wife, giving her a stern kiss on her head in appreciation of her lent ear. "But seein' the kid try to hide from him like that… Lye always thought her old man was the world." He looked sceptically over his shoulder to where Laxus supported Neirah as she rested her sleepy head against his shoulder. "It just makes me wonder… Just what the hell happened to them?"

.

"I sure hope we aren't around long enough to see it for ourselves," Levy whispered tenderly. "Erza is a wreck. Whatever she's seen out of them for the last year has messed her up pretty badly."

.

"Well, I've seen some pretty freaky things outta those two. To think that ol' Red's this shook up… maybe we shoulda stayed home and looked after the kids…"

.

Levy swiftly pulled away from him with a firm expression. "Don't say that Gajeel," she cautioned. "If we had of been the reason the world was plunged into chaos, you know full well that Shadow and Laxus would be the first one's to help us clean up our mess."

.

"Gihi, you tease me about learnin' somethin' from their _perfect_ relationship, well here're the results, Lev." He snickered playfully into the crook of her neck. "You wanna be the big baddie that plunges the world into chaos? Hmn?"

.

"Gajeel, knock it off," she chided whimsically. "You _still_ could have started this."

.

"Mn, I'm about to start somethin'…"

.

"Gajeel!"

.

* * *

.

"Levy?"

.

Levy stopped running her brush through the kinks left in Neirah's long auburn hair from her up-do and tipped her sharp expression to where her mistress had beckoned her attention. "How may I be of service?"

.

Neirah laid her hand over Levy's as its council rested against her shoulder. "I would have you at my side when I reclaim Hargeon in the name of infinity."

.

"You would entrust the guild hall to another in our absence?" Levy offered worrisomely cautioning words, lingering close to her companion.

.

"All of our dragons are at nest. Damian will see to the details and I have faith in their strengths," she assured her. She sighed and turned to face the petite woman at her back, sweeping her considerably lengthened hair back over her shoulder. "When frightened, even a fairy will bare teeth."

.

"Then I will see you back safely," Levy assured her certainly. "I will make sure you ar-"

.

Levy was interrupted when Neirah laid her finger delicately across her lips. "That is not what I ask of you," she whispered tenderly. "I would see that not a single one of them escapes my claws when they extend. I would have you corral them in their hobble so that I can sate my appetite for their blood."

.

"Anything," Levy breathed out softly. She let a gentle purr escape her flushed expression, lacing her fingers with Neirah's. "They will pay for their ignorance… I will never forgive them for abandoning us when we needed them… when Gajeel needed them…"

.

Neirah leant forwards and delicately pressed her lips to Levy's. "Soon," she assured her gently. "That beast will suffer unimaginably for what he's done to my brother… Your husband…" She caught the tears rolling over Levy's cheek with a reassuring smile. "Unimaginably."

.

* * *

.

"Coast is clear!"

.

"All clear!"

.

"Quickly! Quickly!"

.

"Alright, let's boogie," Bickslow murmured softly after his minions gave the clear. He ducked around the corner with Freed on his heels.

.

"We'll have to move swiftly before Juvia catches on to our intentions," Freed rattled out weakly. In his current state, running into a supercharged Juvia didn't seem very appealing. She was much stronger than she used to be since joining them. He was still tending to the wounds he'd suffered at the hands of his old friend, but they would have to wait. "I recently learned of an ancient script I can use to rewrite old enchantments. It was my last discovery before nightmare Levy reclaimed the archives from us. This way, even if Laxus recognises it, he won't be able to counter. Certainly not in his current primordial state of being."

.

"So, you think you can figure out what's wrong with him?"

.

Freed's gaze flashed in determination as he sprinted alongside his comrade. "I have to try," He assured him swiftly. "We can't survive this way for much longer. And it won't be long until his gaze turns to Ever and the others."

.

"Right," Bickslow approved. "Let's get it done then!"

.

The two men were nearing their objective when an elegantly clad water wizard's crop cracked against her hip at the end of the hall. "Gentlemen," she crooned. Her sharp gaze froze them uncertainly in their tracks as it rose. "What would have you rushing the halls this late an hour?"

.

"Well… you know," Bickslow stammered out awkwardly.

.

"Patrolling; to defend the guild from impending invasion."

.

"Yea patrolling!"

.

"We're on the look out!" Bickslow's totems chimed in supportively.

.

Juvia's fierce gaze flashed in annoyance. "Juvia is the one who issues orders for watch. Juvia issues orders for everything," she hissed on approach. "Juvia has been suspicious of your intentions for quite some time… ever since losing one-third of the whole that you used to be to the rebel alliance."

.

"We have had no connection with Evergreen since she left!" Freed defended swiftly. He prepared himself to charge into conflict with the cold water mage. Since losing Gray, something had broken in Juvia irreparably. She was cold as the ice her husband used to command and just as brutally ruthless as their beastly master. If they had any hope of figuring things out, they had to survive Juvia's wrath.

.

A dark and lifeless glower narrowed on the men from Juvia's darkened eyes. " _The Master_ … no longer believes you..."


	5. Incognito

_**Incognito**_

* * *

.

.

* * *

.

 ** _Forty-Eight Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

"We burnt through a day like it was nothing," Neirah whispered solemnly. "And really haven't learned much of anything…"

.

"I'm sorry," Erza murmured to herself. It was easy to tell that she was distraught with her lack of knowledge. "I wish there was more I could do to help, but nobody was there when things got out of hand. I can tell you a lot about how things got worse by day, but I can't explain why everyone started to act so strangely."

.

"You're taking us to the others," Levy assured her gently. She tried not to let her curious gaze linger too long as she laid her palm against the woman's scarred shoulder. "If it weren't for running into you, we never would have known where to find them."

.

"We're not far now," Erza whispered weakly. "We should be able to see Hargeon from on top of this hill… or what's left of it, that is."

.

"What's left?" Gajeel inquired gruffly. He raised his concerned gaze from where it'd watched his feet deliver him forwards. "You mean to tell me Magnolia's not the only town that's been trashed by these goons?" He purposely ignored Laxus' peripheral glare as it was offered his way.

.

"It'd be a much shorter list to name the places that haven't fallen to ruin." Erza turned her tired gaze back towards the uncertain iron dragon. "Any wizarding guild we know of has been destroyed. All that's left of the royal kingdom are strongholds for refugees. They stopped fighting back months ago. Luckily, it seems that Laxus and Neirah are so preoccupied with each other that they don't care too much about mindlessly destroying innocents. That being said; if innocents are caught between the two…" Erza raised her disappointed gaze to where Lyra slumbered against her father's shoulders.

.

"Man, this freaks me the hell out," Gajeel grumbled nervously. "Suddenly a couple days in this place seems like too much."

.

Levy turned her gentle gaze towards where Lyra was still asleep against her father's shoulder. "Poor thing," she murmured gently. She watched the gentle creature with her knotted brow nibble on her thumb in her sleep. It seemed like such a small comfort, but knowing that her parent's love was close had brought her the peace she needed to finally get some rest. "She's been through so much."

.

Neirah's breath caught as she crested the hill they'd climbed and looked down into the port town of Hargeon. "She's not the only one…"

.

"After the guilds had all been assaulted and separated to the two allegiances, there really wasn't anywhere safe for wizards to go," Erza started sadly. "We thought the best chance we had at survival was to hide out in a town that had already been destroyed. It would be less likely to be attacked again. So far, neither Laxus, Neirah or the Magic Council have tried to sift through the remains."

.

"That seems like pretty sound logic," Neirah speculated.

.

"We thought so, but it's been next to impossible to keep everyone fed," Erza informed them sadly. "That is why I got captured… We were forced to search further and further from our hide away in order to sustain the amount of people we keep. Jellal and I were out trying to find provisions, but the Magic Council found us first."

.

"We can't just leave em' all down ther-" Gajeel had just enough time to look down towards where the ground used to be beneath him. There came the loud cracking and scattering of loose brush beneath him, then nothing.

.

"Gajeel!" Levy cried. She lurched towards the side of the fissure emitting his aggravated cries. "GAJEEL!" She hollered down the tunnel in alarm.

.

"Ow!" Levy winced with the thunderous sound of his impact against the ground. "Y'know! I've had just about enough of fallin'!"

.

"I got one!"

.

Their small party turned to where a rowdy boy had exposed himself from behind the nearby foliage, their expressions dropping with surprise.

.

"Great! Can we eat i-"

.

Erza clasped her hands over her tearing face to conceal her gentle whimper as Natsu emerged at the boy's side.

.

"Whoa… hold on…"

.

"Damn it! Who puts a hole in the middle of a freaking hill?!" Gajeel roared. He bitterly struggled to climb his way back out. He had his wrath set on the perpetrators, but that was before he'd come eye to eye with Natsu Dragneel. "Huh?"

.

"Gajeel?" Natsu murmured vaguely, a ring of sentiment in his desperation. "That can't… be…" Suddenly, he thrust his finger out towards the iron dragon slayer in panic. "Whe- bu- you're dead!" He rattled out his alarmed cries in panic, shifting his shaking finger through the air towards Neirah and Laxus. "And you two want to kill each other!" He threw his hands into his hair with a desperate wail of defiance. "And why is Erza the only scary looking one!?"

.

"Lye?"

.

Neirah turned her attention to where the boy had addressed her daughter, her heart torn down the middle. Half of it was relieved to see him drop his cloak to reveal his shaggy mop of auburn hair, the other half wanted to choke the life out of him.

.

"Wait… then that means…" The adolescence' sapphire gaze widened in terror. "CRAP!"

.

Laxus growled lowly as he reached out and grabbed a hold of the boy's hood before he could scamper away. "You're still walking," he thundered impatiently. "Now I'm pissed."

.

"Alright, alright, I know this looks bad, but I can explain!" He threw his finger out towards Natsu. "Ah…. Natsu was holding me prisoner!"

.

"Lying?!" Neirah demanded irately. "Alex, how could you!"

.

"Holding prisoner?! How could you throw me under the crazies like that?!" Natsu cried out in panic. "I didn-" Natsu caught his words behind his startled squeal when Neirah slithered up to him with a look of death in her eyes.

.

"How dare you corrupt my son!" She proceeded to shake the life out of him by his collar. "Do you have any idea how much danger he left Lyra in?! She could have been killed and here you two are digging holes in pathetic attempt to feed yourselves?!"

.

Natsu held up a finger in his defence. "Hey! It almost worked! … if Gajeel was a wild pig or somethin'…"

.

"I ain't no pig!" Gajeel roared. The raising of his fist in defence shook his stability and in the next moment, he was falling back into the hole, dragging Levy with him in return for the efforts she offered to help him escape its jaws.

.

"I'm sorry!" Alex whined. He quickly threw his arms up over his head, shielding himself from the certainty of his father's impending strike. "I got sidetracked!"

.

"And forgot your little sister was alone in the middle of a damn war zone?!" Laxus bellowed furiously.

.

"Not good big brothering!" The crack in the earth shouted back hollowly.

.

"Shut up! You left me standing outside Phantom Lord's guild hall in the rain for **_six_** hours!" Neirah scolded him, aggravated and impatient with the situation.

.

"Would you quit bringin' that up! I said I was sorry!"

.

"Is no one gonna bring up the fact that you two are acting like civilised human beings?" Natsu prattled shrilly.

.

Laxus didn't take his attention of his boy. "You've got about ten seconds to give me a better reason than 'I forgot'," he demanded fiercely.

.

"Dad!" Alex whined in protest.

.

"One."

.

"Dad, I'm sorry!"

.

"Alex?" Laxus stilled as a sleepy little Lyra rubbed exhaustion from her eyes with a gentle coo. "Is it…?" Lyra turned and looked down to where Alex had just been released to the ground by his father. "Alex!" She cried, struggling down from her father's back. Laxus sighed and helped the young girl to her feet. "You're ok!"

.

Alex's face flushed with guilt as his little sister scrambled to his side and leapt into his arms with delighted tears in her eyes. "I was so worried that you had been hurt! Or worse!"

.

"I'm sorry Lye… I know I said I was gonna come back, but when the Magic Council set up camp right outside the city, I knew I'd get busted for sure."

.

"It's ok big brother. I love you," Lyra crooned. She giggled airily, drying her tears on his cloak. "I'm just so glad you're ok."

.

"That child could forgive anyone for anything…" Erza whispered lightly through her happy tears. "She really is an angel."

.

"Well she'd better be forgiving enough for her father too because he is **_NOT_** impressed," Laxus thundered vehemently.

.

"Hey, Alex! Did you guys catch anything? Lucy said you've been gone a wh-" The young girl chasing after Natsu and Alex staggered to a stop when she met the very confusing sight. Her wide and trembling gaze narrowed in on Laxus, her blood chilling with angst. "What is he doing here?" She whispered breathlessly. The young teen took a cautious step backwards, wiping her obsidian bangs from her brown eyes as she prepared her defence. "Why… how could yo-?!"

.

"Gajeel, when we get home, remind me to put you on a diet!" Levy demanded. She did her best to drag her husband out of the hole they had climbed back out of, but little wife problems. The young girls' heart fluttered to the sound of Levy's voice and soon her expression was starting to soften.

.

"I don't need no damn diet! Maybe you should start hittin' the gym!" He defended raggedly, crawling onto solid ground again. "You really don't know how useful a smart assed flyin' cat is until you don't got one." He growled and climbed to his feet, aggressively dusting himself off. "Damn it, Salamander! You'll pay for tha-" Gajeel's words caught as the little girl plummeted into his chest with a desperate squeal.

.

"DADDY! You're alive!"

.

"People are having a hard time finishing their sentences around here," Neirah chimed gently with a soft smile.

.

Gajeel narrowly managed to comprehend his daughter in his arms as she cried, his arms coming around her slowly as they toppled backwards. "Lily?"

.

Levy's expression paled as the two reunited… and toppled back into the hole he had just escaped.

.

"Damn it!"

.

"Now I understand why he didn't go back for Lyra…" Neirah grumbled impatiently, glaring at Alex as the boy raised his arms and shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin. "You know I thought we had more time before this started…"

.

"Maybe we should have a _talk_ with him when we get back." Laxus sighed in relief, truly happy that no harm had come to either of his children, even if they were only mirrored images of the ones he'd left back home tucked safely in their beds. He simply couldn't stay angry knowing that what they were suffering through was the result of their own parent's recklessness. "No dating until he's twenty-one."

.

"And Lyra?"

.

"Never."

.

* * *

.

"So, you've been living out here with Lucy and Happy all alone? Why didn't you two go a little further and meet up in Hargeon with the others?" Levy brushed some branches out of her face as she passed beneath them, the kick-back catching Gajeel in the face behind her.

.

"They probably don't want 'im." Gajeel hissed bitterly, sheltering his daughter from the debris scattering as an unintentional result of Levy's assault. Lilian giggled from on top of his shoulders, clutching his head with a quirky grin as he grunted with every impact of noble defence.

.

"Well, Luce thought about it, but then we ran into some … er… _complications_ , I guess? Yeah, we'll call 'em complications," Natsu admitted sheepishly. She showed them through the trail to a small little cabin tucked away in the forest. "We had some pretty decent game around here for the longest time and Happy was able to find a lot of fruits and vegetables and stuff for Lucy to make a half decent meal out of. Last we heard from Hargeon, it was a bone town… I just… we couldn't just leave this behind just to be with the others."

.

" _Ok_ , so Natsu's broken too," Neirah suggested.

.

"Yeah, that's really not a Natsu thing to say," Laxus added suspiciously.

.

"Oi! Knock it off!" Natsu demanded heatedly. He turned his flushed features away from them. "I got my reasons, ok?! I said it was complicated!"

.

"Natsu!" Happy cried in delight upon floating excitedly towards him. "Did you bring back any tasty fish!?" Happy paled in horror as Laxus stepped from behind the tree line with Lyra on his shoulders. "AH! Natsu! Laxus followed you here! Oh no! Ah! AHHH! He's here!"

.

"Happy wait!" Natsu exclaimed frantically.

.

"Lucy! LUUUCY! It's Laxus! Quick! Evasive maneuvers! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

.

Natsu leapt up into the air and caught the yappy cat in his arms to silence him. "Happy, chill out!" He warned gently. "Gajeel's with 'em."

.

"Buh heesh deh?" Happy murmured from behind the fire mage's arm.

.

"Yea, he was."

.

Happy lingered on the thought for a moment before bursting from Natsu's arms with a horrified wail. "YEEAH! Laxus has started to recruit the zombies of the people he's killed! Quick! Get the torches! Dead people burn easily!"

.

"Oi! Do I look like a zombie, cat!?" Gajeel raged with a shaking fist.

.

Levy snickered softly. "Well, you haven't really slept well in the last couple of days…"

.

"I'm _this_ close, woman…"

.

Natsu growled and caught Happy a second time. "Would you shut up! You're gonna wake the bab-"

.

The clearing stilled as the sound of an infant's cry met their ears. "Is that…?"

.

Natsu smiled awkwardly, throwing one hand behind his head as Erza's breath caught with suspicion. "Heh…yea…" He opened the door and ushered them into his home. "Like I said… er… complications…"

.

"Natsu, can you- EEEK!" Lucy screeched in terror. "What the heck are _they_ doing here?! Happy, quick! I need you to-"

.

"Man, I am just not gonna get used to that," Laxus grumbled impatiently.

.

Neirah snorted humbly. "Actually, sweetie, you could call this the good ol' days…"

.

"Calm down, Lu!" Levy softly encouraged. "We're here from the past to help!"

.

Lucy eyed Levy suspiciously before calming herself and relaxing her hold on her crying child. "W-wait… the past?" She looked Levy up and down. "Your hair is short again… and… you're not dressed funny," she started weakly. "You look like normal, book-loving Levy."

.

"Ehn… yea?" Levy squeaked weakly. "How else would I dress?"

.

"And… Gajeel…?" Lucy held one hand to her brow, the other clutching her baby boy to her breast. "Oh wow…" Lucy muttered grimly, completely embarrassed for the state her life had found itself in. "Here, just… sit down for a bit. I need to… I need to sit down…"

.

* * *

.

Lucy sighed, rocking her slumbering son from where she sat upon a stump formed as comfortably as possible to be the only chair in the home. "Everything fell apart so quickly, it's like Erza said, it's hard to remember how it all started. I think it all began just like Lyra said. Laxus went home early that day and they met in the yard. The next thing you know, they were fighting each other throughout the city. And not your typical Laxus and Neirah fight from ten years ago or so. This was the Fantasia-meets-Marionette type crazy. They seriously wanted each other dead."

.

"Lyra mentioned she'd heard screaming just after they started fighting. It sounded like a woman's," Levy encouraged.

.

"That could have been anyone," Lucy assured her solemnly. "I don't know what got into them but they destroyed everything to try and get at each other. It's like nothing else mattered."

.

"Like Lucy said, it wasn't just a normal fight either," Natsu added sceptically. "I know Shadow's always used some freaky types of magic, but this was insane."

.

"What kind of magic _was_ I using?" Neirah interrogated gently.

.

"Well, it was kind of like your reaper magic, but it was all messed up. It was way stronger than it used to be. I don't think I saw you use much of your dragon slaying magic at all."

.

"Thank God for that," Lucy murmured. "You two got insanely strong after you lost it. It was seriously no holds barred."

.

Natsu looked up at the ceiling with a finger across his chin. "Come to think of it, it smelled kinda funny too."

.

"So, you were there?"

.

"We could see the smoke from Hargeon so Happy and I went to see what was up," Natsu assured her confidently. "We barely made it back outta there. They weren't really bothering to attack us, but damn, if anyone got in their way…"

.

Levy looked down into her lap suspiciously. "Could it be that there was an external force manipulating their thoughts and magic? It seems so weird that they would go feral like that and also get stronger. You can chalk a bit of it up to adrenaline, but from what I hear, this is on a whole 'nother level."

.

"That's just it. If it was something manipulating them, it wasn't just controlling them, it was enhancing them," Lucy exclaimed enthusiastically. "We all thought that someone might've gotten them under some sort of spell, but they didn't even try to fight it. It's like their entire purpose in life was simply to kill each other. From there, it started to affect the others who tried to intervene. Some of the other wizards started taking sides. Gajeel, of course, came to Neirah's aid but…"

.

"I've seen a lotta scary Laxus over the years, but that was inhuman," Natsu murmured bleakly.

.

Levy held her hands up to her face as her mind raced with the horrifying images that might've been, only slightly comforted when he husband's arm fell around her shoulders.

.

"Levy was next," Lucy warned. "She took up arms with Neirah almost instantly. From what I've heard, she hasn't left her side since…"

.

"Gray and I tried to stop the fighting," Natsu muttered quietly. His silent words attracted his solemn wife's attention. "Shads tore him to pieces…"

.

"You mean, figuratively, right?" Levy exclaimed in alarm.

.

"I wish it were so," Erza staggered out weakly. "Those of us who are scarred managed to avoid the brunt of the conflict, mainly the magic. I don't know anyone who met those two head on and survived…"

.

"She's right," Lucy whimpered out wearily. She caught a stray tear on her finger to keep it from falling on her slumbering son. "Luckily, they're so fixated on killing each other that they don't have a lot of time for the likes of us."

.

"But that don't explain why you ain't with the others?" Gajeel speculated. "Yer close enough, why don't you just regroup with them? Strength in numbers and what not."

.

Lucy turned her solemn gaze to her weathered husband. "You guys are from too far in the past to know this but Natsu and I married a couple years ago," she gently explained. "After the war, we decided to slow things down a bit and live out of town. We returned to announce our engagement, but after the wedding, we decided to return to our old place. It seemed like a good idea when we planned on starting our family. For a while at least… I wrote Levy often, but I never told her where we were. Something I'm thankful for now that she's turned against us. We just wanted to be together for a bit before a little one came along. After this all started, I decided to go into Hargeon for a few things only to find it had been completely destroyed. That's where I met with Lisanna and learned about how serious things had gotten." Lucy smiled sadly and rocked her toddler in her arms. "We lived pretty comfortably out here. Our home was destroyed in the crossfire, but we rebuilt from the wreckage and remained where sources were plentiful. After little Igneel came along, we needed to put his health and safety first. There are just more resources out here…"

.

Lucy turned soberly to where Happy, Lilian, Alex and Lyra played in the yard. "Natsu found Alex half-starved wandering through the woods so he brought him in. And he's right. The Magic Council came down on wizards so hard that it would have been nearly impossible for him to make it back to his sister. He had left all the food and provisions with Lyra. He took nothing to keep himself going," she sighed sadly with her thoughts. "I heard that most of the dragon slaying wizards had sided with Neirah, she's taken the self-proclaimed title of Infinite Empress a little far. When we heard that she was demanding the allegiance of any dragon slaying wizard she knew of, we decided to stay here rather than drawing attention to the others. Natsu and Alex have been gathering food from wherever they could and sending anything we could spare into town with Elfman and Lisanna. It's easier for those two to move around in disguise."

.

"And none of you thought to stand and push back against this before it got this bad?" Laxus interrupted with a short scoff. "The way you make this sound it's like the end of the world. All you had to do was take us out. It's not like we're invincible."

.

"Laxus," Neirah scolded quietly. She seriously hoped that they didn't spend too much thought on Laxus' theory.

.

"Ok, for starters, nobody wants to stand against even one of the Ten Wizard Saints much less two of them and Neirah made taking down Acnologia look like a cake walk!" Lucy defended. "Secondly, you don't know what you guys are capable of! You wonder why everyone freaks when they see you? Try going through this like we did! Watching you turn on everyone you used to care about." Laxus diverted his attention somberly as Lucy raved. "Even those of us that didn't go completely psycho didn't know how to deal with it! Unlike the two of you, we didn't know how to stop you without hurting the people we used to care about!" She sighed solemnly and shook her tears away from her cheeks. "We didn't know what else to do… We watched so many of our friends die… And even if you had become something vile, you were still our friends…"

.

"Lucy…" Levy whimpered upon consoling her friend. "What about Lilian…? How did you find her? Erza said the last time she saw her, she was with… she was with her father… What happened to Pantherlily? Would he not help you?"

.

"After Laxus knocked off her old man Lily tried to go after her mom. She didn't understand what was goin' on," Natsu murmured. "Alex found her and brought her back here. As far as we know, Pantherlily snapped around the time future Levy did. They've both been on Shadow's side since that day."

.

Levy bowed her head and closed her eyes, trying hard to keep herself from breaking down with the weight of guilt in her heart for abandoning her own daughter. Clearly, Laxus and Neirah weren't the only ones affected and the more she learned, the more she became certain of her theory.

.

"We still don't know enough," Neirah whispered faintly. She was vaguely unaware that she clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles grew white with the force. Laxus reached over and wrapped his arm around her neck, tipping her head to his chest so that he could place a hard kiss on the top of it.

.

"We got time," Laxus rumbled softly. "And we still have everyone at Hargeon to talk to. It's not like we aren't learning anything."

.

"Lyra seems to be the only one who has heard exactly what happened." Levy offered gently. "And I think she's on to something."

.

"What do you mean?" Lucy pried.

.

"She said something made her parents sick, and any of us know that Neirah and Laxus wouldn't just turn their backs on each other for no reason, much less their own children. They've been through worse, been forced to fight with each other before but they always managed to snap out of it before anyone got hurt." Levy turned her determined gaze towards their gathering. "I want to find out whose voice Lyra heard that day. I feel like that's critical. Lyra's note made it sound like infidelity might have been a possibility, but for Shads to lose it like that, it just doesn't make any sense. It sounds to me like a cover." She took Lucy's hands in hers with a serious expression. "Lucy, can you and Natsu watch the kids while we make the trip into Hargeon?"

.

"I… of course."

.

Levy turned to Erza with an encouraging smile. "Erza, you should stay here too. You're in no condition to travel."

.

"No, I have to come with you," she assured them certainly. "There is no way they'll let you in without me. They'll surely react the same way as the others."

.

"She's right…" Gajeel added. "I'm dead and the rest of you guys are nuts so we're gonna need her to play mediator."

.

"Besides…" Erza started softly. "You four need to make it back home at all costs. If even one of you falls in this world, it will be over."

.

"Yea, we get that," Gajeel agreed huskily. "Ain't nobody else dyin'."

.

Erza nodded her head with a soft smile. "Right…"

.

"I can come with you!" Natsu recommended. "Just in case you run into trouble."

.

"Sit down," Laxus demanded as he slowly stood.

.

Natsu flinched as Laxus flattened his palm on the man's head, using the force of pressing him back to the floor to help him stand. "Hey! I'm just tryin' to help!"

.

"We don't need it!"

.

Natsu flinched with the sudden swell of fervour in Laxus' demand.

.

Knowingly, Neirah reached out and rested her fingers against his tightly balled fist.

.

"If you wanna help, keep those kids out there safe until we get back. You've got your own problems this time. This is ours." It was growing harder for him to conceal that he was growing attached to the shadows around him, becoming increasingly aware of their suffering. "You've managed to stay hidden this long, but if one of us comes after this place someone needs to stay here and look after them."

.

"Well, yeah but…"

.

"We'll be back."

.

Neirah and Natsu watched as Laxus turned and made his exit, wracked with anxiety and frustration.

.

"I'm sorry," Neirah whispered gently. "We don't have a lot of time to figure this out… I think the pressure's starting to get to him…"

.

"He's right though," Gajeel agreed. He dropped his palm on Natsu's head with a sly grin. "I'll let the kids know that their uncle Salamander's gonna babysit em' till we get back, gihi..."

.

"Come back and say that to my face you jerk!"

.

"Natsu!" Lucy growled, their son bursting into tears in her lap.

.

"Eh?! I'm sorry! Daddy's sorry, please stop crying," he cooed.

.

Gajeel stepped to the side of the clearing where Laxus was watching through the trees towards Hargeon. He turned and looked towards the quiet man before joining him in looking through the trees. "Buck up, Sparky," he warned. "There's not a whole lot keeping this rescue mission together right now. And Erza's right, it's a damn good thing to have our master here for this."

.

"Everyone's justifying it with some other means, magic, cheating," Laxus murmured grimly. "After all this time… maybe I wasn't as in control as I thought."

.

"Laxus, you didn't just fucking lose it," Gajeel demanded. "Stop kicking yer own ass and focus. From the story we keep getting', Shads hit first."

.

"It's Cardia Cathedral all over again-"

.

"I said quit it!" Gajeel demanded fervently. "Yer too cool for all this self-pity crap! You screwed up once, ok? We all did! Then's not now!"

.

Laxus turned his lethargic gaze to face Gajeel sternly. "So you're tellin' me you don't ever think about all the Phantom crap you left behind? Or what you did to your wife before you realised she was your whole fucking world? I don't care how long ago it was, a decade, a century. Those scars don't heal." Laxus diverted his gaze from the discouragement rising in the iron dragon's features. "We're night n' day in a lot of ways, but we're alike in the ones that seem to count for somethin'."

.

"Sometimes I forget just how much shit the girls forgave us for," Gajeel added somberly.

.

"I don't."

.

Gajeel sighed and straightened alongside his comrade. "But they're still here," he assured Laxus confidently. "And I know they put on the tough-as-nails act, but they really do look up to us to keep it all together…"

.

"That's the only reason I'm not sniffing out my alternate self and ripping his fucking head off his shoulders…"

.

Gajeel gave a meek smirk at Laxus' enthusiasm. "Y'know I got your back, right?"

.

Laxus slowly turned to look down at his friend and ally with fragments of the uncertainty he tried to conceal slipping free. He reached out and took a hold of the arm Gajeel offered him. "Yea…"

.

* * *

.

 ** _Forty-Six Hours Remain_**


	6. Devil in the Mirror

_**Devil in the Mirror**_

* * *

.

.

"So… this is it?" Laxus rumbled calmly. "Looks like any other pile of rubble to me."

.

"The entrance had to be concealed so that suspicious stragglers wouldn't discover us," Erza informed him certainly.

.

"So, what're you waitin' for?" Gajeel pried, watching the apprehensive warrior shift her weight.

.

"I just don't know how to approach this," Erza admitted bashfully. "The last anyone had probably heard, I'd been captured by the Magic Council. If I return like this, they might suspect that I was broken out of custody by an enemy force and sent in as a wolf in sheep's clothing."

.

"Are things really that bad?" Levy whispered worrisomely.

.

"You heard Natsu and Lucy… it will take years to erase the scars of what we've seen," she drew in a deep breath and took her first step forwards. "But if this means it will simply take no more than forty-eight hours, I'd gladly risk it…"

.

"Take me," Gajeel interrupted upon joining her side. "As far as any of these guys know, I'm six feet under." He looked down on Erza with a wry grin. "Unless you've learned how to raise the dead in the last six years, they gotta believe you."

.

Erza thought on his suggestion for a moment before smiling back with a hard nod. "Right."

.

Neirah sighed edgily as she watched the two disappear around the rubble towards the tunnel leading to the shelter Fairy Tail's refugees currently called home. "I can't believe we've got to tip toe around like this…"

.

Laxus watched his wife pace around anxiously for a moment before he reached out and took her by the shoulders. Levy flinched as Laxus picked Neirah up by her shoulders, drew her back, and set her right back down by his side. "Stay," he warned her sternly, folding his arms back over his chest. "If you start freaking out, I'm gonna freak out."

.

Levy bit her lower lip and rocked on her heels apprehensively. "Oh God, with everything that's going on, PLEASE don't freak out while I'm alone with you two…"

.

"Yo!" Levy turned with a sigh of relief to face where Gajeel was emerging. "We're cool in here."

.

Laxus watched as Neirah and Levy started for the entrance. "I'm gonna stay out here," he rumbled apprehensively. He turned to keep a weathered eye on the darkening horizon. "I've got a real bad feelin'."

.

Gajeel's expression darkened as Levy and Neirah passed him by. Neirah caught her breath nervously as she felt the tension brewing within her big brother for her husband's paranoia but she was uncertain as to why it was there. "Everything alright, Screwball?" She crooned upon lowering her hood from around her face.

.

"Yea," he admitted curtly. He firmly dropped his palm onto the top of her head as he passed her. "You two go gab, I'm gonna stay out here with Sparky."

.

"O-ok," she staggered out timidly. "We'll try to be quick. If we can get a strong lead out of someone inside, we might be able to go back to Natsu's and hide out there until our time is up."

.

"Right…"

.

She nodded back at him nervously as he took Laxus' side. With a deep inhale, she followed closely behind Levy and entered the Fairy Tail stronghold.

.

Neirah's heart sank as she entered the dimly lit cavern, tired and damaged faces staring back at her like a room full of half-starved strays. "No… Oh god… is this all that's left?" She whimpered sadly. Her heart ached as a battle-weary Mirajane approached her with the saddest smile she'd ever seen the woman display.

.

"I'm sorry for this if it really is you," Mira cooed gently. "But if you really did come to us from the past, you should still have your guild marks, right?" She looked down at her feet, trying to hide that she was ready to bare teeth the moment she called their bluff. "It's not that I don't trust Erza's word, but Fairy Tail's crest was the first thing you three stripped from your bodies…"

.

"O-of course," Levy clamoured out. She quickly unlaced her cloak to reveal her marked shoulder blade.

.

Neirah was swiftly behind her, baring her chest that was still coloured with golden fairy pride. "It would be the last thing I'd remove," she whispered certainly to her dear friend. Neirah caught her breath as Mirajane threw herself against the infinite dragon slayer with desperate tears in her eyes, a trembling smile on her lips.

.

"It is you," she whispered weakly against Neirah's auburn locks. "You came…"

.

"There are so few of you…" Neirah whimpered. She returned the she-devil's embrace, devastated to feel the woman trembling in her arms.

.

Mira wiped tears from her eyes, reapplying her smile with all the sincerity she could muster in such conditions. "It is likely anyone you don't see here has either been taken from us or detained by the Magic Council. A few wizards sided with your future selves, but not as many as you'd like to believe…"

.

"Jellal and the others… they never returned," Erza reported vacantly.

.

Levy approached with tears in her eyes. "It's terrible… Shadow, these aren't only Fairy Tail wizards… There are wizards from Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus too."

.

"These small numbers… these are all the free wizards left in Fiore?!" Neirah started to tremble in terror.

.

"All that we know of…" Mira concluded humbly. "It's possible that more have hidden out in the mountains or forests like Natsu and Lucy, but we have no way of knowing for sure…"

.

"Levy… Levy, is it really you?"

.

Levy caught her breath and turned to glance a face once familiar to her, a shrill squeak in her voice as she spoke. "Jet… your eye."

.

Jet fell into Levy's embrace off the crutch he hobbled around on. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

.

Levy did a quick scan of the room before her devastated gaze fell back on Jet's. "Jet… where is Droy?" Her heart broke when Jet recoiled with the sound of Droy's name on her lips like she was about to strike him.

.

"I guess the future you… didn't want to see us again," he managed weakly.

.

Levy staggered back a step, shaking her head. "I… I hurt Droy?"

.

Jet nodded in heartache. "You hurt a lot of people, Lev…"

.

Levy whirled around with a furious whine. "Shadow, we have to stop this!" She exclaimed in determination despite the tears streaking her face. "This is a nightmare!"

.

"It's not our nightmare, Levy!" Neirah recoiled with her words as all eyes fell on her. She ground her teeth and shook her head to deny the pathetic gazes staring through her. She immediately wished her husband was at her hip. "Laxus was right… I'm sorry but… we came here to find out what happened so we can go back to the past and prevent this future from ever happening… We're not here to save this future…"

.

The room went silent for a long moment before someone stepped forwards. A chill crawled across the dusty floor as a familiar blade of ice formed to a cold hand. "I can think of one way to prevent this from ever happening."

.

"Lyon!" Shelia wailed desperately, screeching in terror as the ice-make wizard lunged towards an unsuspecting Neirah.

.

"This is for Gray!"

.

Before Neirah could catch her breath, the frozen blade was glittering as its shards fell to the ground before her beneath defensive claws. The silent room trembled as Lyon stared back into the crazed sapphire expression of their host.

.

"One more false move, Lyon, and you'll be fending for yourself outside these walls," a satanic Mirajane warned him sternly.

.

Lyon fell back with a rattled grunt of uncertainty, watching the stern woman return to her original form once more.

.

Mira quietly turned and looked seriously back towards Neirah, who was clearly on the verge of breaking under the pressure weighing her shoulder's down. "We'll tell you everything we can," Mira assured her sweetly. "If we figure it out, then all these memories will fade like nothing terrible ever happened. Then we can all go home… with all the friend's we've lost…"

.

Levy's heart ached as she watched Jet crying silently on the damp floor. "We have no time to waste," she uttered gently while turning to face the women. "I have lots of questions..."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Forty-Five Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

"They've been in there a while." Gajeel was speculative as he shifted his weight uncomfortably next to a man he'd swear was made of stone. He cast his gaze towards where Laxus watched the glowing horizon and although he tried to imagine that the sunset was all that appealed to his friend, he knew better. "Do you think they've learned anything?"

.

"Don't know," was the curt response he received. Gajeel actually found himself flinching when Laxus finally turned to look down on him. "You sure time's not just draggin' because you're nervous about bein' out here alone with me."

.

Gajeel thought on his words for a long moment before settling and turning his gaze out towards the horizon to match. "Nah," he admitted softly. "There was a time I probably wouldn't'a found it real comforting but… We stood the same way over my kid sister's grave a few years back, we stood this way when Ghoul Knight succeeded in bringin' back that dragon… and we stood this way when you married her." He turned and looked back at Laxus with a reassuring smile. "Gihi… So yeah, we've stood through worse than this, I'm sure." Gajeel turned away when Laxus smiled back at him. "Besides," he rumbled through his hearty sigh. "If you wanted to kill me, you had plenty of chances to do it before now."

.

* * *

.

"I can remember around that time we had a slew of new members joining," Mirajane explained in a small room secluded from the other refugees. "But I can't remember anyone suspicious."

.

"Anyone who had a magic capable of causing the events we've seen here?" Neirah interrogated gently. "I would have suggested an Astaulian but I haven't seen once since '92."

.

Mira shook her head sadly. "Not that I can remember."

.

"And we can pretty much rule out anyone with a connection to Marionette," she assured the table. "Not even Zade was capable of this level of control. Laxus was still able to show signs of consciousness through it so at least one of us should still be sane."

.

"You seem really sure that someone else is in control of this situation," Mira offered sceptically. "I'm not saying that you and Laxus just broke each other, but who would ever want to ruin what we had?"

.

"I'm not sure if Fairy Tail was the target," Levy started thoughtfully. She scribbled down some facts on the notepad she'd brought along with her before beginning a brief consolidation. She flipped through her notes, her Wind Reader glasses glowing efficiently. "I think the fact that our Master was targeted first is a coincidence."

.

"You think they were after Laxus himself?"

.

Levy sighed and slipped her glasses off her nose. "Frankly, yes."

.

"That can't be right," Neirah denied apprehensively. "Laxus hasn't caused anyone any problems for a long time."

.

Mira bowed her head sadly with the troubling thought. "Yes, but he wasn't always a real nice guy to be around either."

.

Neirah's breathing hitched as she trembled at the thought.

.

"I know I sound like a broken record," Levy started enthusiastically. "But I really want to know who the woman was that Lyra heard scream right before the battle began. The way Lyra described it, it made it sound like Neirah killed her and that is what made Laxus so angry, but if that were true, it wouldn't be a magic infecting the minds of our future selves. The caster wouldn't be alive to continue the spell." She nibbled on her pen impatiently. "You said that Laxus went home early that day, which he NEVER does."

.

"That's true," Neirah agreed humbly. "And if he does, I sure as heck know about it. But he's always so stressed about the guild and running it that most nights I have to bring dinner to him at the guild hall."

.

"The easy option was for us to believe that Neirah had caught Laxus being unfaithful," Levy concluded. "Neirah was furious, struck down the woman he was caught with and then attacked Laxus himself."

.

"No," Mira whispered in denial. "I know Laxus has been known to have a bit of a reputation, but he's changed. He'd rather give his own life than betray his family."

.

"I'm not denying that," Levy speculated. "But I'm saying that it would be an easy way for someone to conceal that we were being manipulated."

.

Neirah's eyes widened with the expulsion of Levy's theory. "You think we were made to believe that I killed the woman so that any suspicion of magical intervening would be doubted."

.

"Exactly," Levy confirmed. "Because almost any manipulative magic, even strong spells, lose their effectiveness once the victim is aware of the castor's identity. So, I can pretty much guarantee that magic _was_ involved." She turned and looked at Mirajane seriously. "If what I suspect is true, I'm almost certain that the woman Lyra heard 'die', is not actually dead."

.

"Lyra said she didn't recognise the voice of the woman in the yard so that rules out anyone who she was raised with," Neirah mumbled quietly. "Which with her parent's wizarding reputation was a LOT of the wizarding community."

.

"And so many people joined the guild around that time that it would be hard to pinpoint which one he left with," Mira groaned. "And that's if he left with anyone. Lyra may have been manipulated to imagine the whole thing!"

.

"Wait," Levy muttered. "Wait, no, hold on!" She threw her notes down impatiently and stood, laying her hands on the weathered table. "We might be wasting what little time we have!" She demanded. "The day this started, people said they saw Laxus leave early, but they didn't mention that he left with anybody!"

.

"Oh God…" Neirah groaned, slamming her head against the panelling under her palms. "It could be anyone then!"

.

"That's true," Levy started positively. "But what we neglected to take into account was that Alex took Lyra to their rooms. Alex wasn't in their rooms to begin with."

.

Neirah gasped in realisation. "He spends so much time out in the yard practising magic, maybe he saw something!"

.

"He's not far from here so there's no reason why we can't ask him quickly."

.

"And if the woman Lyra heard really was a wizard, we have wizards from guilds all around the continent here in this stronghold," Mira exclaimed. She pushed out her chair and climbed to her feet equally as determined as Levy. "I can stay here and question everyone I can about whether they know users of this type of magic. Meanwhile, you two go back to Lucy's and ask Alex if he got a look at the woman before he ran inside to protect his little sister."

.

Neirah nodded sternly with a confident smile. "We won't be-" Neirah froze when the door flew open to the makeshift room they occupied, a panting Elfman filled with panic.

.

"Mira! They found us! They've blocked all the exits!"

.

The three women paled, their hearts racing with fear.

.

Neirah's eyes widened with her wandering thoughts as she caught her breath. "Laxus…"

.

* * *

.

Her steps were slow and methodical as she weaved her hips from side to side, approaching down the corridor. The hollow click of her heels echoed beneath every step as a hush fell over the wizards she approached. "Oh? No warm welcome for an old friend?" She raked acidic claws over the debris making up the walls of the stronghold, the tunnel starting to collapse into bright pieces alongside her with its decay. "That's disappointing." She rolled her head to the side, the small curls escaping her elegant up-do flopping over the curvature of her face. "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask me what I want? That's how this works. Bad guy shows up, you tell me to make my demands like the frightened cattle you are-"

.

"What do you want, Neirah!"

.

Neirah tipped her gaze over her shoulder to face a lone Mirajane standing defiantly against her, and if she'd had a serpent's tongue, it would have been fluttering in front of her sinister grin. "Mira, darling, it's been a while."

.

"Not long enough," Mira all but growled in defence of her family and friends. "I asked you what you wanted."

.

"And I'm sure you know full well that I've come for something quite particular, seeing as you haven't been summoned by the scent of your comrades burning flesh."

.

Mira tried to remain unshakeable as the Empress approached, fangs dripping with malice and reptilian eyes hot for revenge. "Natsu isn't here!" Mira demanded impatiently. "You'll have to search elsewhere! Nobody here is a threat to you, so just leave!" If nothing else, as menacing as the Empress was, she was somewhat coherent and logical. If Laxus had of found them, they would already be ash.

.

"Oh, that's cute," Neirah purred venomously. "You think I'm after the little flame-spitter, well I hate to tell you no, but," she laughed melodically before replacing her musical tone with sadism. "Oh wait, no I don't." She was nose-to-nose with Mirajane now. "No." Neirah backed away and overlooked the crowd of cowering wizards. "A little flying kitty told me that my _enemy…_ has been betrayed," she purred in spirited form. "And that I might find that little traitor within your walls."

.

"I won't let you take Ever!"

.

"Elfman!" Mira's cries were silenced by his roars as she was forced to watch the beast form of her younger brother lunge towards their enemy.

.

Neirah scoffed in disgust and lazily drew her palm back before driving the hand up beneath his jaw. A hush fell among the crowd for one still moment before shards of ice leapt from her still hand and pierced his flesh.

.

"NO!" Mira wailed in horror, watching her brother collapse to the ground.

.

"You know?" Neirah crooned over the sound of Mirajane and Lisanna crying over their brother helplessly. "This has given me an idea." Her musings were sadistic as she checked her nails for blood. "I really… _really_ want to find a very special beast, and its location could very well be known within these walls. So… how about I kill one of you every few minutes until you surrender the wannabe fairy." She threw her hands out to either side with a beaming smile. "Oh good! Let's play!"

.

* * *

.

"I can't just leave Elfman and the girl's back there with that psychopath!" Evergreen demanded through trembling breaths as she crawled through a small tunnel between Neirah and Levy.

.

"You have to," Levy argued. "We need to get out of here and if Neirah got her hands on you, not only would you die, but so would everyone else who had any information that we might be able to use. This way, she'll have to go through them all to find you."

.

"Your scapegoating everyone inside?!" Evergreen protested. "That's just as terrible as the things she's done!"

.

"Not if we can make this right!" Neirah defended.

.

"But you heard Elfman! She's blocked all the exits!"

.

"Yes, but according to Elfman, there is a crack in the wall large enough to see through not far from here," Neirah encouraged.

.

"Why does that matter? She's boxed us in!"

.

Levy smiled confidently and held up her light pen. "It will be all I need."

.

* * *

.

"I don't think it's my imagination anymore," Gajeel rumbled sceptically. "They've been gone way too long."

.

Laxus quickly scanned the still earth around them, his heart thundering in his chest. His breathing hitched when he heard the low rumble in the distance, and with heavy breaths, he slowly raised his head to watch the storm approach.

.

"What's wrong?" Gajeel inquired in a voice raised in alarm.

.

Laxus panted out a few hard breaths before the crimson sky started to turn smoky with the humidity in the air. His bleak whisper was hoarse with the apprehension in his voice. "That's my thunder…"

.

* * *

.

"Levy, what's taking so long?" Neirah murmured hurriedly under her breath. "Rewriting your own enchantments should be easy."

.

"Not even close!" Levy defended gently while dabbing the sweat from her brow. "Shads, this whole enchantment is written in Alra'Bekthian!"

.

"What!?"

.

"What does that mean?" Evergreen fretted nervously.

.

"It means that the only two people that can speak this language aren't very fluid in it six years ago," Neirah groaned dismally.

.

* * *

.

"That's it, I'm goin' in to warn the girls," Gajeel restlessly informed. "We gotta take off before-"

.

Laxus whirled around the moment he heard his comrade call out in pain and frustration. "What the hell happened?" He demanded in alarm.

.

"The hell?" Gajeel growled and rubbed at the side of his face to soothe the area that had crashed into the unsuspected barrier. "Levy's got us locked out?!"

.

Laxus stepped forward and reached out until the fizzle of denial was crackling around his fingers. "It's gotta be hers," he rumbled distantly. "Freed's enchantments look nothing like this."

.

"Why the hell would she want to keep us out?!"

.

Laxus' breath caught, the hollow rumble of thunder in the distance paling in comparison to the terror of realisation striking him in the next moment. "Or to keep everyone else in." He poked at the barrier again to reveal its script, and as it faded, he repeated the action.

.

Laxus pulled away and scanned the area as quickly as possible. "Shra'celia..."

.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?!"

.

"This whole enchantment… It must be written in that freaky cult language Neirah grew up with," he rushed out in concern. Luckily for him, the only words he knew of the Austalian demon language was bright as day in front of him.

.

"How did you know that?!"

.

"Not important. What is, is that there are only two people left alive who speak the language of demons." Laxus dismissed his ally, starting to circle the stronghold. "Guess her mom was a freak too."

.

"Crap. You're thinkin' future Levy is here?"

.

"She must be," Laxus speculated, carefully rounding corners as the iron dragon slayer trailed him. "And if she's here, I can guarantee you that so is my future fucking wife."

.

"Shit, we're screwed," Gajeel hissed impatiently. He watched dark clouds roll in around them, trying to deny the racing of his heart for his worry to maintain a strong appearance. "I was really hopin' we'd make it back without having to try and deal with this."

.

Laxus swung around and faced him seriously. "We're not facing shit," he dictated certainly. "We're gonna get the girls out of here, and we're gonna turn tail."

.

"The hell about all the people still trapped inside?!"

.

"They're not our fucking problem," Laxus demanded, raking Gajeel towards him by his collar. "We die here, it's game over. Sure, none of this ever happened, but a whole nother kind of hell is gonna open up for those kids back at home!"

.

Gajeel stared back at him for a long and contemplative moment before nodding and following his lead.

.

* * *

.

"I can't believe you helped him find her!" Freed demanded, flying as fast as his wings could carry him.

.

"You saw what he was capable of when you didn't play by his rules!" Bickslow argued defensively. "I didn't have a choice! Besides, I didn't see Ever with the rest of them so there's a chance she already got out."

.

"Hopefully that is exactly what happened," Freed murmured optimistically as they approached Hargeon's port. "Laxus should keep Neirah distracted long enough for me to rewrite the enchantment Levy's laid to trap them all inside."

.

"Right, let's move!"

.

* * *

.

"There she is," Gajeel whispered quietly. His throat worked dryly as he watched a future version of his wife speed through an old book like she hadn't just trapped a bunch of old friends in a cage with a bloodthirsty demon. The biggest difference he didn't expect to see was the hair that cascaded in gentle blue waves past her shoulders. He'd never seen his wife with longer hair... or in half a leather bodysuit. "Man, Lucy wasn't kiddin'… there's no way in hell I'm gonna be able to mix those two up." Gajeel swung around to face Laxus as the man caught an amused snort in the back of his throat. "What the hell was that for?"

.

"Nothin'…" Laxus rumbled coldly. He shifted his derisive gaze away from attempts of the mock leather-clad bad girl. He laid his palm on the other man's shoulder before pushing forwards. "I'll ridicule you and your woman when we get back home. Right now, we've got to try and get the jump on tiny. If theses psychos are powered up, I'm not gonna risk a full out assault, even against the tiny ones."

.

Gajeel growled lowly as Laxus slipped around the other side of some debris, obviously trying to surround the unsuspecting script mage. "Not gonna lie, she looks kinda cute with long hair," he murmured quietly to himself while following the lead. "Fuck that, who am I kidding, that's dynamite."

.

* * *

.

"Ok Shads, I think I found a bit I can work with here," Levy informed her hurriedly. "I just need some help with the context."

.

"Great," Neirah sighed. "The thing that's hardest with this stupid language."

.

Levy closed her eyes tight and balled her fists in frustration. "Errg… it cuts off before I can finish reading even one sentence!" Levy fumed. "I need more room!" The three girls flinched as the rocky debris crumbled away around them as if on cue, their expressions pale and uncertain.

.

"Crap!"

.

"Would you just shut up and keep moving!"

.

"I'm tryin' but my foot's stuck in a damn hole!"

.

"Real fucking stealthy, champ," Laxus hissed.

.

"I know those boots," Neirah whispered in relief.

.

"Gajeel!" Levy whispered. She reached out to touch the edge of the enchantment to make the characters fuss. "Down here!"

.

"Huh? Levy?" He knelt towards the hole, as close as the barrier would let him get. "We figured out that you got company," Gajeel informed them quietly. "They must've come in from another entrance 'cause I don't think they saw us."

.

"Thank God," Neirah expelled with relief. "Is Laxus with you?"

.

"Yea and just as sunny as ever," Gajeel rumbled dismally. "Soon to be both of them."

.

"What?!"

.

"Oh no…" Evergreen fretted helplessly, tears streaming down her face from wide eyes. "There's no escaping this… We're-"

.

"Would you quit your whining?"

.

Evergreen gasped and turned her gaze towards the opening she'd been avoiding, catching her breath as Laxus joined Gajeel's side.

.

"We're gonna get you guys out of there and then turn these psychos on one another." He offered her a small and reassuring smile. "Then you and the rest of em' take off as fast as you can in as many opposite directions as possible, got it?"

.

Evergreen held her fingers to her flushed features in front of her smile. "Yes, sir."

.

Levy turned back to Gajeel with a determined look on her dainty features. "Alright Gajeel, listen, I need you to do something for me..."

.

* * *

.

"Now then… it's been more than a few minutes and nobody seems to have been grateful for my generosity," Neirah crooned devilishly. A wicked smile curled her painted lips. "Which is fine for me actually because I think I'm just about ready to kill again." She slowly scanned the room of fretful expressions, clinging to each other for hope. She laid a long and polished nail to her lips in thought. "But who to choose… Ah!" With a beaming smile, she reached up and took Lisanna up by her hair, dragging her to her feet in front of the merciless woman. "I know, what better way to cement a rivalry than by killing both of my enemy's younger siblings?"

.

"No," Mira whimpered desperately. "Please, take me instead!"

.

Neirah's golden gaze widened before wandering down to where Mirajane clamoured about at her feet. Surprisingly, she dropped Lisanna back to the ground before taking a step towards the shattered she-devil. "Hmn, that is a good idea too," she purred in approval. "Kill you and leave the youngest to fend for herself without the love of her older siblings to comfort her. Ooo hoo hoo – you're bad…"

.

Mira looked back at the demonic empress with defiance sparking in her soft blue eyes.

.

"Oh, wait now. If I'm going to be bad, I might as well do it right," Neirah mused. She flipped her palm out to summon a shadowy blade to her grasp. "I'm supposed to ask you if you have any final words, blah blah."

.

"Just four," Mira spat out vehemently.

.

A sinister grin curled Neirah's lips as she weaved around the woman and slipped the shadowy blade beneath her throat. With a menacing grin, Neirah gently leant in from the side and kissed Mira's cheek. "Proceed, little fairy."

.

Mira took a deep breath and tipped her head back in call of the deranged woman's bluff. "Neirah will stop you!"

.

The Infinite Empress barely had time to raise her eyes before thunder was shaking the stronghold's makeshift walls around them. In her distraction, Mira slipped free and clasped her frightened little sister to her chest. "He's come?" Neirah murmured quietly. Her gaze darkened bitterly as she bared her teeth and swung her gaze around to the tunnel at her back. "Levy!"

.

* * *

.

Neirah turned away from the debris as her iron fist broke it away from Levy's path. "There, try that," she coughed. She covered her face to shield if from the dust.

.

With her solid script mask, Levy went to work. "Ok good, that's a start," she clamoured. Her light pen started squeaking frantically as she worked.

.

"Be careful!" Evergreen warned. "This place is already unstable enough. It won't take much before it all comes down."

.

"Gajeel!" Levy called out sternly. "See if the other me has some form of dictionary on her! There's no way I learned all this in just six years!"

.

Gajeel grunted softly and blushed as he looked down on the woman he'd managed to get close enough to knock out. "Hate to break it to you Lev, but it's pretty easy to tell that there's nothin' on you underneath this get up."

.

Levy growled in frustration and rubbed her temples behind her Wind Reader glasses. "Damn, remind me to kick your butt for being a perv later."

.

"We got company."

.

Neirah looked up to where Laxus' gaze was narrowing on the horizon and she flinched when sparks lit up his wrists. "Who is it?!" She exclaimed uncertainly. "Is it me?"

.

"Looks like two for team crazy me," he rumbled gruffly. "Comin' in fast."

.

"Two for Laxus?" Evergreen gasped and neared the barrier once more. "Is it Freed and Bickslow!?"

.

"Friendly?" Laxus questioned bluntly.

.

"Of course they are!" Evergreen encouraged. "Freed! Bickslow, over here!"

.

"That's weird," Levy murmured dismally. She watched the two approach, calling out to their friend. "Everyone else seems to be catching this loss of control like it's a virus… how did they manage to avoid it? They're attached to Laxus at the hip."

.

"That's not true!" Evergreen demanded. "I was with them when we went to join Laxus' side in the war."

.

Levy and Neirah gasped uncertainly. "But you don't seem much different from the Evergreen back home?" Neirah staggered out weakly.

.

"We actually didn't get to spend much time around him, Juvia wouldn't allow it."

.

"Juvia?!" Levy exclaimed uncertainly. "She sided with Laxus?!"

.

"More than sided with!" Evergreen demanded. "After Neirah killed Gray, she lost her mind!"

.

"Shra'celia…" Neirah murmured softly to herself, tracing the glowing characters of the enchantment with her finger. Her eyes widened in realisation. "Levy, the people affected by this are people who have lost ones they loved! The more love they had for a person, the stronger they react!"

.

"So, when the future you thought you lost Laxus, you were affected."

.

"And then as the fighting got out of control, more and more people followed, siding with the lesser evil. That's why Gajeel was able to get close enough to the future Levy in order to incapacitate her! The spell's effect on her must have weakened when she saw the love she'd lost!" Neirah concluded. "Laxus! Try to get Freed's attention! Levy and I could use his help!"

.

"No need," Laxus rumbled softly. "He's right here."

.

Freed took a step back before hitting his knees in the debris scattered among the port. "It can't be…"

.

"Whoa, Laxus buddy, is that really you?" Bickslow offered hopefully. "Like the normal you. Not the freaky cave-dwelling version."

.

"Y'know, if I get asked one more time if I'm me, I think I'm gonna catch crazy too." He smiled lightly as Freed and Bickslow's delighted expression lit up with the comforting sight.

.

"Freed, down here!" Levy exclaimed hurriedly.

.

"Wait, Levy?" Freed murmured suspiciously.

.

"There's two of em'," Gajeel informed as he flopped the other unconscious girl down on the rubble beside them.

.

"Well, things just got freaky real fast," Bickslow observed dimly. He stared back at Gajeel's ghost with a sceptical expression.

.

"We can explain later!" Levy interrupted. "Right now, I need to drop this enchantment so that we can get out of here."

.

Freed took a deep breath before examining the enchantment with the girls. After a moment, he smiled confidently and laid his finger down to show Levy where to start writing. "Excellent. Just follow my lead!"


	7. Fading

_**Fading**_

* * *

.

.

* * *

.

 ** _Forty-Three Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

"There!" Freed exclaimed, backing away from where the enchantment had dropped around them. He reached his hand through the glittering of descending runes towards Levy. "Quickly now! Before the Empress realises it has been done! If she thinks something has happened to Levy there is no telling how dangerous the situation will become."

.

"Yea and I thought that past Nei was crazy, this one's _berserk_ ," Bickslow added absently. "To top it off, she's like crazy obsessed with Levy. It's really weird…" He tipped his gaze to the side with a grim expression as he watched the skies pollute with static. "And the big guy'll be here any minute. This place is as good as ash so we might wanna find cover and soon."

.

Levy squeezed out of the opening in the rubble with Freed's aid, Evergreen close to her side. Neirah's absent gaze was drawn to the offering of Freed's hand and she quickly turned her head to face the others. She shook her head decisively to clear herself from her daze. "I can't," she whispered weakly. "Mirajane and the others… they'll be caught in the crossfire!"

.

"Neirah, we've been over this!" Laxus thundered impatiently. "This isn't our fucking world!"

.

"But they _are_ our friends!" She demanded, turning away defiantly. "Friends that might still have information we need."

.

"Neirah!" Laxus expelled a weighty sigh as he watched her charge backwards from whence she came.

.

"They must not've figured it out yet," Gajeel grumbled dismally. Keeping Levy closely behind him as the ground started to quake with the thunder crackling around them. "Man, not the stealthiest guy six years from yesterday, are you?"

.

Freed turned his gaze to the horizon with a sullen look of defeat on his features. "When you can level half a continent with one wrathful strike, you don't have to be…"

.

Neirah avoided the sight of crimson static crawling across the ocean's surface from the nearby banks. Be it fear for her friends or fear to see what her husband had become, she fled back through the tunnel she had escaped with nervously. If Laxus was close enough to affect the tide rolling in the bay, he was too close.

.

"Shadow!" Levy exclaimed frantically. "Gajeel, we can't let her go back! Her future self is down there!"

.

"Yea, well future Sparky is up here," Gajeel rumbled cautiously. He swiftly readjusted Levy back behind him in defence. "Pick yer poison…"

.

"Laxus, aren't you going to go after her?!"

.

"Tsk, when the hell have I ever chased after that woman to save her reckless hide?" Laxus snorted in amusement. "Even if she pisses me the hell off sometimes, she can look after her damn self."

.

Evergreen watched helplessly as the storm approached, her fear close to paralysing her entirely. She looked down into the ruins in which she'd just escaped, her heart racing with her certainty.

.

* * *

.

"Big sister, are you ok?" Lisanna whimpered worrisomely. "Jet, bring more blankets. Her fever won't break."

.

Mirajane clutched her head, tears streaming down her face. "Lisanna… you have to go."

.

"But Mira! We can't leave you here with t-"

.

"I said go!" Mira demanded. She shoved her little sister away from where she was doctoring the sickly she-devil, the act forcing Mirajane to wince in agony over her actions. Lisanna's startled and hurt gasp filled Mira's ears. "Lisanna… I'm sorry," she whimpered, shaking desperately with fever. "Please, you have to go… Something's wrong with me…"

.

"She got sick so quickly…" Jet observed, silently delivering the blankets that Lisanna had requested. "She's not herself… Do you think…?"

.

"No!" Lisanna shouted whilst throwing her palms into the soggy dirt. She flexed her trembling fingers, tears joining their presence. "They won't take Mira away from me too!" She demanded hysterically. "She's strong!"

.

Mira trembled weakly, her wide gaze flickering lifelessly as she began to lose control of her thoughts. "Please Lisanna," she whispered grimly. "I don't want to hurt you…"

.

* * *

.

Neirah was nearing the break in the tunnel that would lead her to the others when a sharp jerk was dragging her back by her wrist. She cried out in surprise but was quickly silenced by the sight of an ally. "Evergreen!"

.

"You can't go back," Evergreen assured her sternly. "If it's knowledge you're worried for, I have everything that they had if not more. If it's for fear of our safety, Laxus is right! You can't jeopardise your safety for ours! Not when you have the power to stop all this from ever happening!"

.

Neirah's breathing hitched as she stared into the certain features of a woman she had been at odds with since the day they'd met. "There's a chance that I can stop her!" She defended weakly.

.

"Yes!" Evergreen demanded confidently enough to make Neirah flinch with the woman's conviction. "There is." Neirah's trembling gaze searched her ally's for a long time. "But you need Freed's help."

.

* * *

.

"What do we do now?" Gajeel asked openly to rattled company. "I ain't leavin' the kid."

.

Laxus lingered at the iron dragon slayers back in thought. To say that they'd been caught between a rock and a hard place was an understatement and Neirah's flighty attitude towards the situation's severity wasn't helping.

.

"Well, well, well."

.

Laxus flinched with the toxic sound of venomous hissing at his back, eerily familiar but sickeningly foreign.

.

"So, the beast finally rears its ugly head."

.

Laxus slowly turned to face his wife; but not the one that he had arrived beside. This one had a sick and sinister expression curling her arrogant lips into a malicious scowl, a hollow glow behind her reptilian gaze as it narrowed on him vindictively. It was the thing he hated most about his wife, those molten golden eyes. "Now I just _know_ you aren't talking to me," he rumbled sternly, glaring right back at the woman in cool detachment.

.

Neirah's expression staggered uncertainly with the low uttering of his words. 'He spoke,' she thought nervously. 'The beast never speaks…'

.

"Huh? Who're you talkin' t-" Gajeel was silenced when Laxus held his arm out and forced him back.

.

"Get the girls out of here. Now."

.

"Bu-"

.

Levy raised her arm and slowly ushered Gajeel to the side behind the cover they'd managed to retain. "Listen to me," Levy assured him bravely. "We need to find shelter from this battle and quickly. Laxus will follow."

.

"Laxus you can't-!" Freed was cut short by Neirah's infuriated bellow.

.

"Where have you taken my precious Levy, you filthy animal?!" She demanded from atop her perch, a shadowed whip appearing at her side. Laxus narrowed his gaze on the use of her reaper magic as if it were natural to her. It was magic she'd sworn she'd never use again in X791.

.

"Open your damn eyes," he demanded impatiently. He casually directed her attention to the girl bound to the rubble alongside him with an extended arm beneath his cloak. "If that's all you're after, then take her and make tracks!"

.

Neirah's gaze flashed hot with arrogance as she turned up her nose at him, rage burning behind her amber irises as Levy began to stir. "You still reek of my brother," she snarled. Her gaze refused to break his. "My vision has never been clearer…"

.

"Course he smells like me, I'm right here."

.

"Gajeel!" Levy exclaimed. Even though she struggled, she was held back around her waist by Freed as she clamoured to reach her delusional husband.

.

"What is that imbecile doing!?" Freed demanded. "Laxus told us to leave!"

.

"Yea well not all of us listen to Laxus," Gajeel grumbled. He broadly took his comrade's side, refusing to abandon him in the face of danger. "So there, I'm alive. You can stop tryin' to kill each other now."

.

Laxus drew his palm swiftly up between his eyes. "Good, right, piss off the girl with the bladed whip."

.

Neirah was taken aback, her wide gaze trembling as her brother approached her. "It's a trick," she whispered weakly. "There's no… no way…"

.

"Yep. Totally fine," Gajeel assured her. He held his arms out and did a little spin before looking up towards her perch with a cocky grin. "Wanna come down here and give yer big brother a hug?"

.

"Mistress Neirah!" The future Levy cried in outrage. "Watch out! They used the same trick on me! That phantom is an imposter aiding in the enemy cause!"

.

The Levy from the past caught her breath, her soft gaze watching as her future-self flailed wrathfully behind her binds. 'She called Shadow ' _Neirah_ ',' she thought quietly. 'I can't imagine the pain she felt when she lost Gajeel but is she really so blind that she can't see that we're here to help?'

.

"I will destroy you all."

.

Their party flinched with Neirah's devastated hiss, her darkened expression widening with her deranged wrath.

.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE BY MY HAND!"

.

Laxus grabbed Gajeel by the collar and raked him back behind cover as the shadow of her weapon sliced through the earth in the same spot he once stood. "What'd I say about pissing off the girl with the whip, huh?" He demanded, shoving Gajeel around the corner. "Now move!"

.

"I won't let you escape!" They heard her call.

.

Laxus took a deep breath, grinding his teeth in frustration. 'Damn it Neirah, you picked a real bad time to play the hero and the villain all at once,' he thought desperately. He flinched when Neirah's pained bellow was heard from behind the rumble they'd slipped behind. Just to be sure, he peeked over the ledge to assure the Neirah in pain wasn't his. Sure enough, he watched a future Neirah and Mirajane in heated combat. "Mira? What the hell is she thinking?"

.

"This way!" Evergreen called, attracting his full attention. He turned to face the fairy only to be relieved with the sight of his wife at her side. "If we go quickly we should be able to get out of here before Laxus shows up!"

.

'I guess this works too,' Laxus thought hopefully. He took one last look at the sadistic dominatrix his wife had become and then quickly chased after them.

.

* * *

.

Gajeel cast his gaze towards Laxus as they slithered through the remains of Hargeon that Evergreen had been capable of familiarising herself with over the time she'd spent with the Fairy Tail refugees. "You ok?" Gajeel rumbled gently in concern. His careful gaze observed the shift in his ally's haunted expression.

.

"She's **not** the woman I married," Laxus assured him coldly. He shifted his gaze out front of their party to where Neirah and Evergreen conversed.

.

"There should be a way out of the city not far from here!" Evergreen demanded. "Elfman used it frequently when he and Lisanna were trying to smuggle in supplies…"

.

"Are you really ok with leavin' him behind like that?" Bickslow inquired softly.

.

Evergreen's pale expression dimmed painfully as she pressed forwards. "I have to be… for all of us," she murmured weakly. "I have to believe that Neirah and Laxus can set this right in the past before any of this ever happened. If I don't… it is accurate to assume that… it's only a matter of time before we all fall to their brutality."

.

Neirah reached out and laid her hand on Evergreen's arm for comfort. "We will… I promise."

.

"There! I see the break in the city limits!" Freed exclaimed positively. "Just past that pier!"

.

"I can't believe it!" Bickslow celebrated enthusiastically. "We managed to escape the big guy twice in one-"

.

Expressions faltered in devastation as the darkened sky lit up like it had been split opened to bleed upon the earth.

.

"Just had to say it…" Gajeel grumbled bleakly. "Y'know," he started edgily. "We may be in the future but… I see an awful lot of our past comin' up lately."

.

Neirah stumbled backwards a step before Bickslow caught her staggering and adjusted her to her original position. "Don't run, Nei," Bickslow informed her wearily. "That'll only make him want it more."

.

Levy watched Neirah's lower lip tremble before tears were finally meeting the agonised tremors. Levy slowly reached out and took Gajeel's hand tightly in hers. "What do we do?" She whispered weakly.

.

"Well, we ain't dead yet," Gajeel started slowly. He shifted his stance so that Levy was at his back once more. "And for me, that's sayin' somethin'." Gajeel flinched when the next crack of lightning revealed a desolate crimson gaze in the eyes of a man he'd once dared to call brother. He forced a dry swallow down his throat, the enemy's gaze piercing him with a predatory hunger. He took another slow step forwards. "Maybe he's just on his way to get at the other Sha-"

.

The instant a crimson flash illuminated the south pier above Gajeel's head, it was too late. Levy's wail of agony sliced the air as she was thrown back by the sheer force of impact moments before the winded script mage struck the earth. "Gajeel!"

.

Gajeel panted breathlessly as he watched the smoke clear around him. He slowly staggered to his feet, his gaze meeting a confused, yet relieved, Levy's. He redirected his attention, his heart racing with panic.

Laxus glared back at the dark image of himself, his breathing instantly laboured and body wracked with the immediately devastating pain of his own attack. His resolve was unshaken when he caught his own attention, the shadow of what he'd become narrowing an impatient gaze on the man trembling in the wake of an attack that would see most overcome beyond defiance.

.

"No! Laxus!" Freed nervously called to the man, desperate to reach out to his friend, but before Freed could tend to the wounded, Laxus had thrown his arm out to signal silence.

.

"Go," he growled hoarsely in demand. "Get Neirah up to speed." He groaned, one eyelid collapsing over his agonised gaze with the sharp pain piercing him. "I'll catch up when I'm done here." Laxus flinched, his stern expression softening when he felt Neirah gently slide a couple of her fingers between his.

.

"Come as soon as you're able," she whispered weakly. He was almost disappointed that she didn't try to stop him as she released his hand to take the lead of their following.

.

Laxus drew in a couple hard breaths before a confident smile was curling his lips. At the same time, he was eager as hell to tear himself apart. "Yea… this won't take long."

.

"Laxus! His lightning isn't like yours anymore!" Freed called out frantically. "You can't jus- Eagh!"

.

"Water nebula!"

.

"Freed!" Evergreen called out helplessly.

.

"Juvia knew that we would find you here, you miserable rats!"

.

Freed climbed to his feet only to have Juvia trap him inside her water lock moments after her brutal assault. "Traitors!" She demanded. "Siding with the Master's enemies! Fairy Tail is dead! Juvia will see to it that anyone bearing its mark will be destroyed!"

.

Neirah stood up straight and displayed a confident scowl, tearing her cloak from her body to reveal Fairy Tail's crest on her chest above her heart. "Fairy Tail is alive," she corrected swiftly. "And as long as I draw breath I will fight to keep it that way."

.

Neirah didn't waver as the rage and agony took hold of Juvia's expression similarly to the way it had for Levy and the Empress. They seemed to be affected consciously in confusion for a small moment before their derangement was intensifying. If what she had heard was true, she was responsible for Gray Fullbuster's death. Sister or not, Juvia would have never forgiven her.

.

With Juvia's inner confliction, she released Freed in order to focus on her objective. "Neirah," he whimpered quietly. "Do not let her magic… touch you…"

Neirah didn't have a lot of time to think as Juvia's devastated wail pierced the air, the tides rising in the bay with her wrath. "The rest of you get to safety. Laxus and I will hold them off as long as we can and then catch up with you." Her ears rang with Juvia's furious words as her strewn insults collided with the emptying walls of her mind. She listened to her friends escape before narrowing her gaze on Juvia. "Come to think of it, I don't think I like how chummy you've gotten with my husband," she crooned. "Let's say we remedy that."

.

* * *

.

"I was hopin' you'd show up…" Laxus unclipped his cloak and dropped it to the earth at his side to avoid hindering his mobility. "You're a real piece of work, y'know that?" He patronised. "You show up and the guy you roasted almost a year ago is standin' with a mirrored image of yourself and you've got nothin' to say about it?" There was a hitch in his breath when his observation was responded to with a low growl, crimson eyes narrowing darkly with intent. "Hmn, not real chatty are you…?"

.

Laxus grunted in agony as the man across the pier plummeted into him with full force in the time it took him to blink. "Damn it!" He cursed bitterly, skidding to a stop on his heels. "Quiet and quick... just what I needed after a hit like that…"

.

Laxus watched the way his future-self moved, and soon, he was all too aware of why he had such a brutal reputation. There was no thought in his process, nothing but a sheet of red in front of his eyes that inspired him to kill everything in sight. He drew back his arms to defend against the statically charged combat situation he was forced into. 'Freed's right… Lightning shouldn't hurt like this,' he thought bitterly. He charged his own fist before driving it into the jaw of his opponent, but to his dismay, all his counterpart did was snap his head back into place and blast him into the debris of Hargeon's port town.

.

Laxus coughed out an agonised breath as he checked to see if he'd actually been folded in half, but despite the unbearable pressure in his gut, he seemed to remain relatively linear. 'Shit… His attacks are tearin' me apart, but mine just glance right off.'

.

He had just enough time to catch his breath before another vicious flash of crimson lightning was raining down on his head. He cried out in anguish as he was driven further back into the cities remains by the brute before him.

.

He nearly choked on a mouthful of blood before expelling the rocky dust that began to settle around his trajectory and in his lungs. "Damn it… Never been the mouse in the old cat n' mouse routine before…" He raised his weary gaze to where he watched himself approach, there was no hesitation in his stride. In the dark man's eyes, he was already as good as dead.

.

* * *

.

"You filthy _WITCH_!" Juvia wailed her insults as daggers of boiling water rained from the sky onto the ruins of Hargeon. "You killed him! You killed Juvia's beloved!"

.

Neirah weaved her body through the air, flipping toe-over-head backwards towards cover. 'Juvia's magic isn't just more powerful. There's something different about it,' she thought humbly. She raised her arms in front of her. "Expel devastation!" Her shadowy casting blanketed the field to her demands in order to negate all elemental effects. "I don't appreciate having to use these despicable spells!" She bellowed. "Spells I swore I'd never use again!"

.

She charged towards the deranged water wizard with her hand to her side. "Reaper's shadow – EXECUTIONER!" Juvia's expression didn't once falter as the summoning of Neirah's shadow scythe cut through her immovable figure. She caught her breath in a moment of panic for her impudence, watching Juvia's water body slowly regenerate around her.

.

"You cannot cut through Juvia's body like you did her darling Gray's!"

.

Neirah threw her body to the side and rolled out of the way of the funnel of water plummeting towards her. She gasped for breath and quickly dropped into the shadows to skirt around the cyclones ripping up the city around them. Then, she scampered up towards the high ground and leapt towards the water wizard. "Shadowed lightning dragon's black rain!"

.

Neirah quickly dropped to the earth as fast as she could, dodging her enemy's sporadic attacks as her agonised wails pierced the port. 'That's right, water and electricity don't mix…' A low groan found her throat as she watched the water in the bay rise with Juvia's fury.

.

"I will submerge this entire city in water and then boil anyone who paddles to the surface!"

.

Neirah ground her teeth with her decision, climbing to her feet with a determined whimper. "I can't let you do that," she whispered. 'I'd really hoped to reserve my power for defence against my future-self, but I see now that we aren't going to make it back without a fight.' She closed her eyes, the tidal of Juvia's attack glowing with the light surrounding Neirah's dainty figure.

.

"Hellfire's final judgment!" She ordered her attack, the black wave of her spell nullifying any magical content of Juvia's casting. As the rain fell from the heavens around them, she drew back her hand and opened the gates of infinity. "Now face infinity's!"

.

* * *

.

Laxus was weakening in spirit as he was driven back into the dirt again by his merciless enemy. His attacks were useless and in the moment, he was nothing more than a scratching post for the disturbed lion set on tearing him to pieces.

.

He watched the man perched on a nearby roof, glowering down at the mess he was sure he'd become. He could feel the dust of the city's remains clotting his open wounds, and if he wasn't so pissed off that he was being jolted around like a rag doll, he wouldn't have been able to deny that the red leaking into his vision was actually the blood from a split in his brow.

.

If nothing else, in his final conscious moments during his struggle against the beast, he was granted a better look at what he'd become. He knew full well that the man could have ended him in a single blow. He felt the insane amount of power rip through his body when he took the strike directed at Gajeel. Then the strangest thing happened. He started to hold back; if that was what you could consider a single-sided annihilation.

.

Unlike the Empress, the man before him was barely human. Long black claws extended permanently from thick fingertips, onyx and crimson scales permanently dotting heavily inked, distended forearms. And if the lifeless look in his crimson eyes beneath three haggard scars wasn't feral enough, the hot clouds of steam seething from his flared nostrils in every breath was case enough. He was wrath incarnate, but what bugged him the most about the sight, was that he could still see it. He couldn't figure out why the monster was showing mercy to the person he knew from experience he hated most in the world.

.

Himself.

.

He ground his teeth defiantly and spoke through the impatient scowl. "I don't suppose you'd just tell me what's pissin' you off so I can just go home and fix it?"

.

"Oh ho ho, Laxus, look how adorably pathetic you are! I never thought I'd see the day!"

.

He turned his attention to the rubble around him, searching for the muffled feminine giggling echoing in his ears. He didn't recognise the voice, but he was almost certain it was the voice of an enemy.

.

"I love it…"

.

He growled lightly and looked up into his own merciless expression as the sky crackled with electricity above him. "Guess she wasn't talkin' about you, huh?" It kind of irritated him that those would be the last words he ever spoke. He scanned his thoughts quickly in hopes of finding a way out of his predicament, but the search was in vain. Instead, he watched his darker counterpart's arm rise, silently praying someone would sever it from his own body.

.

"I don't think so, pal!"

.

Laxus blinked a couple of times as he watched himself eat iron, the force of the attack throwing the vacant presence across the port. "You got no idea how good it feels to do that and not get yelled at!" He quickly turned his head to the retraction of the pillar, watching the fist emitting it pump with enthusiasm. "Now we're even, Sparky." Gajeel cast him a wicked grin before leaping down alongside him from the rubble he'd perched on. "Come on, let's get you back to the others before big n' ugly gets back up."

.

Laxus' brow furrowed grimly. "You know with the amount of people callin' me ugly today I think I'm gonna walk out of this with a complex."

.

"Gee, you don't have enough of those? But to be fair, if you walk outta this at all yer winnin'," Gajeel crooned supportively. "Man, he got you good. Might be a bad time, but can you walk?"

.

"I'll manage," Laxus assured him swiftly. "You got a plan B for when he gets back up?"

.

"Enchant!"

.

Laxus flinched and turned to where Freed had completed his enchantment around the port.

.

"Plan B," Gajeel mused supportively.

.

"We have to hurry…" Freed rushed out weakly. "I don't have anything strong enough to hold him for long so I set a simple delay. There is power in simplicity. We have twenty minutes."

.

"I told you guys to get outta here," Laxus breathed out feebly.

.

"And I told em' I don't listen to you," Gajeel mocked, hitching the wounded man's arm up over his shoulders. "Come on, we gotta disappear."

.

"Laxus?"

.

Gajeel whirled around to face where Neirah was staggering to catch up with them. "Shads."

Neirah panted weakly and slowed to join their side. "You came back," she observed. "Is the other Laxus…"

.

"Not even close," Laxus rumbled in defeat. "I don't even think he broke a fucking sweat."

.

Neirah's gaze widened in terror as she joined his side. "No… that's… impossible," she defended vaguely. "I mean, Juvia was certainly more powerful than she used to be, but I was still able to defeat her…" Laxus diverted his attention with a sharp pain coursing through his body and in the next moment he was feeling incredibly vacant in presence. "Laxus…? What is it?" Neirah cooed worrisomely.

.

"We have to get him back to the others immediately," Freed demanded. "He's been exposed to his own magic."

.

"But… that shouldn't really matter should it…?" Neirah flinched as Laxus fell to his knees despite Gajeel's attempts to keep him standing. "Laxus!"

.

His breathing grew laboured and his mind blank with the fading of her voice. He heard some ramblings as his world darkened, about getting him to safety. Medical attention and what not. But the only voice he wanted to listen to was the one that kept whispering death in his ears.

.

* * *

.

"How delightful."

.

Like an infuriated jungle cat circling its cage as its prey danced just outside its reach, an inhuman Laxus turned to glare past Freed's enchantment and face the woman who set his blood on fire. Neirah stepped forwards, her delicate toes a breath away from the barrier. "I came to find the little mouse you scared away and here I find the cat himself." She traced one long nail along the edges of the enchantment, Levy close to her side.

.

"I see the day hasn't been a complete loss." Levy sighed blissfully, harbouring images of Fairy Tail's refuge in shambles and bathed in the scent of death.

.

"Levy, darling," Neirah mused wantonly. "Put a leash on my new pet, would you?"

.

* * *

.

"No… Daddy..! Daddy!"

.

Juvia fled up the stairs, careful not to trip on the hem of her lengthy sundress as she rushed. She found Lyra's bedside and quickly rested her hand on the distressed child's brow. "Lyra, Lyra sweetie, wake up." Juvia was startled when the young girl leapt into her arms and sobbed weakly against her breast.

.

"Daddy's in trouble," Lyra whimpered through trembling breaths. "Daddy…" Her words were hard to understand as she forced them through her devastated moans. "We have to help him…"

.

Juvia held Lyra in her arms carefully and stroked the back of the frail girl's head. "Shh, it's just a dream. Your mommy and daddy are fine."

.

"Daddy." She whimpered again, her eyes seeing past the walls around them. "Save him, mommy…" She blinked back large tears from over shimmering blue eyes. "I want my daddy…"

.

* * *

.

 ** _Thirty-Seven Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

His head was light as he rolled it to one side against his pillow. He vaguely felt someone at his side fussing with the blanket that was pulled over his chest, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out who it was. He opened his eyes, wondering why the sensation was so unfamiliar to him, and he was dismayed to see that the person shedding tears over his condition was his wife. "Neirah?"

.

"You're awake," she gently observed. "I was… so worried…"

.

"Are we?"

.

"Back at Natsu's... Our future selves must have collided because we don't seem to have been followed here..."

.

His heart sank. Nothing about her felt familiar to him; not her scent or the way she stared back at him through a vulnerable and tear streaked expression. Panic started to shake the walls of his chest. He slowly sat up against the floor and laid his head in one heavy palm. "I-I can't…"

.

"Laxus, you should rest," she fretted uncertainly. "You were really badly-"

.

He silenced her with the quizzical look on his features as he swung around to face her looking like a dog that had just been kicked. He searched her face, the tone of her voice, but nothing about her seemed familiar despite him knowing exactly who she was. "Neirah?" He found himself repeating.

.

Neirah's lips trembled as she watched his vacant expression search for stability in the dimly lit room to one side of Lucy and Natsu's humble abode.

.

There was a lifeless flicker in his expression for a moment that forced his brow knotted tight with discomfort. He was trying his hardest to listen to the sounds of her speaking, breathing, but his thoughts managed to drown it all out against his will. His fingers trembled as they reached out to her, trying to grasp any familiarity they could. But as his fingers grew closer, the only thing that had become clear in his mind was the desire he had to stop her breath from meeting her lips altogether.

.

"Laxus?" She murmured weakly, nervously shuffling away from the fingers stretching out towards her. "What's wrong…?" Her whimper was shrill as he laid his fingers against her face, the tension in his hand mirroring on the grip he had on her flesh. She gently shook her head, watching his gaze flicker blankly before her. "What are you..?"

.

Neirah squealed shrilly as she was dragged forward less than gently and as she collapsed against his chest, his lips crashed possessively against hers. She trembled weakly with the strength he'd used to hold her against him, and she could only ever remember one moment he'd ever kissed her hard enough to make her lips ache.

.

He was afraid.

.

She didn't pull away from his passion, but she didn't embrace it. Something was wrong. His immoderate actions were forcing his hands to tremble, and he couldn't control the strength in which he held his delicate bride. He could barely breathe when he pulled away from her, or perhaps he didn't want to draw breath any longer. He pressed his brow to hers, his fingers desperately searching for familiarity in the embrace he'd trapped her within. "Something's wrong," he rumbled weakly. "Neirah, I can't…"

.

"Can you hear me?" She repeated, unbeknown to him previously. "Laxus, I'm trying to explain-"

.

"Something's wrong with me," he all but snarled. He flexed his fingers against her skin as they trembled with restraint. "I want… I feel like I'm …"

.

Neirah drew her hands to his face and took him firmly between them. She forced him away from her and looked deep into his erratic gaze. "Laxus," she demanded, stroking his bangs from his perspiration dampened brow. "Laxus you need to pay attention to what I'm saying."

.

His trembling gaze finally found hers, his whisper weak with the weight of his heart in his chest. "I don't want to hurt you… Not again… Neirah…"

.

"You're sick," she explained weakly. She finally released him so that he could stare blankly towards the wall. "Levy and I figured out why everyone was acting so strangely. It was the same reason I was able to defeat Juvia so easily while you struggled with your future self." Her heart was breaking as she watched him fight the demons festering inside him, demons he worked so hard to bury. "Lyra was right… something did make us sick," she assured him. She trembled as he turned his devastated gaze back towards her. "Freed figured out a way to protect he and the Thunder Legion from its effects, but he didn't have time to help us before we ran into trouble."

.

"What did he do to me?"

.

Neirah's lower lip trembled with the hollow presence of his consciousness, he was trying so hard to hear her out. "Levy says that it's referred to as a forbidden living magic. It's a magic that manifests in the victim like a virus, taunting their consciousness with subliminal signals of the caster's decision. It's parasitic. Once it becomes part of a magic user, it is spread between individuals through their own magic. She said that it hasn't been practised in centuries though because of its volatile nature. The caster has no control over it once it starts, nor are they immune."

.

"I hear you talking… but I can't… I just feel like…"

.

"The basic elements set forth by this spell were hate over love," Neirah whispered softly. "Whoever cast this spell wanted people who loved each other the most to want each other dead. That's why everyone has lost touch with their moralities. The more love the person felt for another, the more seriously they were affected." Neirah watched him stare back at her vacantly, the heavy rise and fall of his chest trying to keep up with his desperate need for clarity. She reached out and gently ran her fingers over his dangerously tight forearms, seriously hoping that he didn't break out into a panic attack before the other's returned.

.

"Shortly after we arrived back at Natsu and Lucy's home, Erza brought Lisanna to us… They were the only two to survive when Neirah and Levy attacked. She said that Mira was infected when my future-self killed her brother… but because Lisanna wasn't touched by Neirah's magic, she simply mourned. It confirmed everything."

.

Laxus slowly shook his head, lost in a dimension that seemed to float between worlds. "Get it out," he silently begged in a husky tone. "Neirah… blood. It's all I ca- want…" He threw his head down and grasped the roots of his hair, grinding his teeth as tightly as he sealed his eyelids. "I want you dead!" He demanded through hoarse whimpers. "If we go back to the past… like this." Neirah cried out in surprise as he drove his fist through the floorboards beneath him. "HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE DIDN'T BRING THIS THING BACK WITH US?!"

.

"Laxus calm down," she cautioned through her tears. "Don't confuse the situation."

.

He raked his arm away from her and denied her presence entirely. "I can't hear my own thoughts. I can't hear my own fucking thoughts!" He warned her darkly. "I just have-"

.

Neirah whimpered in alarm for a second time beneath his demanding kiss, but she didn't close her eyes to linger. 'The way his future-self was affected… like an animal…' She whimpered softly and laced her fingers tightly with the one's he'd laid against her neck. 'He's redirecting the impulses lustfully rather than responding violently…'

.

Neirah's deep gaze flooded with tears as he pulled away from her and displayed his own watering gaze. "You have to fix this," he begged. His widened gaze trembled, hot streams of agony reaching the barred teeth of his grimace. "I can't lose you again…"

.

She gently took his hand in hers and laid it down in the blankets covering his lap. "Wait for me," she whispered tenderly. "Levy and Freed are trying to figure out if it's safe for me to use my infinite sky spells on you under this magic's influence. It seems the caster targeted you first. They have something out for you. It's possible it is in the parameters of the original casting that my magic will accelerate the process." She watched him drop his head, conflicted tears pooling on the dusty boards between them. "Do you remember the last time I had to pull black magic from inside you?"

.

"I don't care," he whined. "Nothing would hurt more than… Not that… Anything but-"

.

Neirah gently leant forwards and held his head to her breast in comfort as he cried. "And you think losing you would hurt me less?" She demanded. "Taking your life from two bright-eyed children with my own hands?" She laid her lips against his head and trembled along with him. "My magic has always been dangerous, to begin with… I need to be sure…"

.

"Go," he demanded feverishly. "Before it gets worse… before I…"

.

Neirah gently leant forwards and pressed her lips to his shuddering brow. "We're a team," she whispered soothingly. "You won't fight this alone…"


	8. Strength of One-Hundred

_**Strength of One-Hundred**_

* * *

.

.

"Isn't he _magnificent_?" Neirah crooned. She casually folded one leg over her other as Levy offered her a glass of red wine. She laid one delicate hand against the ragged wooden table she sat upon and lowered smoky lashes over her triumphant gaze as she listened to chains rattle against the rocky floor of her dungeon.

.

"He would be better dead…" Levy hissed vindictively. She took a sip of the wine she'd kept for herself. "It's too bad, he'd make an awfully ugly rug." She shifted her hot hazel gaze towards Neirah expectantly. "Why are you allowing him to live after all he has done?"

.

"Don't you see?" Neirah purred, curling one long, polished nail around Levy's chin. "Nothing hurts a wild beast more than being contained…" She raised her leg before reaching out and sinking her spiked heel into the joint of Laxus' wounded shoulder, her sinister grin reacting to his growls of pain as she gave her ankle a twist. "Not even the death he deserves," she sneered venomously. She leant to one side and retracted her lean leg from where it was swatted at. "But don't worry my darling, it won't last," she assured her second casually. "I will tire of this game and then when I see fit to end it, dispatch him from this world once and for all."

.

"If I may?" Levy murmured softly, bowing her head. "The mere sight of him sickens me." She snarled, glaring down to where she had helped her master detain the man in question.

.

Neirah reached out and caught Levy's chin before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Very well, I'll meet you in bed," she mewled. "I want to play with my new pet a little longer before I turn in."

.

"Be careful, Mistress," Levy cautioned worrisomely. "Even with his magic restrained…"

.

"I know," she rumbled. She contemptuously retracted her foot out of his reach once more. "The ox still has some fight left in him."

.

The room grew silent as Levy bowed her head and exited, leaving the two bitter rivals alone together. Neirah slowly rolled her wine around in her glass before taking a silent sip. "Look at you," she mused sinisterly. "I can't even imagine the rage you must be harbouring right now. Not so mighty without your precious lightning, are you? But I still have mine." She giggled to his furious seething as her black electricity dimmed the room around them with a sickening crack. The moment the sparks cleared, she lunged forward and snapped her dark claws across his jaw. "Call it little, you senseless brute! I dare you!"

.

Laxus stared back at her vindictively through wrathful crimson eyes. Even as his body bled under her cruelty, he didn't acknowledge the pain. It was as if he was incapable of feeling it at all.

.

Neirah caught her breath derisively. "Tsk… I adore that in my brother's dying breath he exacted my will in seeing that wretched expression symmetrical." She pointed the toe of her heel and slipped it over the scar Gajeel had managed to leave behind in his final battle with the lightning dragon. When she reached his chin, she drove her toe to the side to snap his vengeful expression her way. "Pathetic," she mewled. "You can't even speak anymore, can you pet?"

.

With his lack of resistance to her whims, she quietly set her glass down on the table and rolled her head to the side in silent observance. "It fills me with great joy," she mused softly. She languidly climbed to her feet and took a hesitant step towards him. "To see you so vulnerable at my feet." The hollow click of her heels against the stone beneath echoed in the empty room. "So great that I might be swayed to show you the slightest form of mercy. Kill you quickly…"

.

Neirah knelt down just out of reach of Laxus' chain bonds, keeping a weathered eye on his reaction to her presence as she spoke through her wry smile. "Or perhaps I will keep you a bit longer." She chuckled sadistically as she leant in dangerously close to his prison. "I could stud your collar with precious gems and use you to ward off invading Magic Council members." She reached out and gently stroked his chin from side to side. "As thoughtless as you are, I'm sure I could find a way to teach you the simplest commands." A wicked grin curled her lips. "Or perhaps you remember some, for old time's sake…"

.

She was growing more confident in her superiority as she neared nose-to-nose with him, staring back into his defiant glare. "I'll tell you a secret…" She whispered closely. "Sometimes I still wonder what it was like. What I could have seen in such a monster…"

.

She carefully watched the accelerated expansion of the tribal lines on his chest. She rolled her tongue over her lower lip and caught it between her teeth as they displayed a sheepish grin. "You want to kill me, don't you?" She slowly raked a single nail over the curvature of his face. "Probably just as badly as I want to kill you." She carefully monitored the tension in his body as she grew nearer. "Pitiful fool…"

.

"But I wonder," she crooned mischievously. "Would you bite… if I kissed you?"

.

Neirah didn't have time to react to the lurch of her prisoner as he broke free of his chains and lunged towards her. She felt like the hollow crack of her skull against the stone floor was going to be the last sensation she'd ever experience, but it wasn't. She stared back at the hungry and ravenous beast above her as she was crushed beneath the passion of his kiss.

.

Her heart raced with her vulnerability and soon, rage was taking over her expression all over again. When he pulled away, she was moments from striking back through the air of uncertainty until she was approached with the unexpected.

.

"You should have killed me…"

.

Her ear burned beneath his hoarse whisper against her senses. Neirah stared into the rubble that had become the wall of her fortress, the thunder echoing in her mind as Levy clamoured worriedly to her side, summoned by the sound of the commotion. His blood had left a trail across the floor towards his exit, but the wounds he'd sustained wouldn't keep him down for long. She gently held her fingertips to the throat that had been pinned beneath the heat of his palm moments before.

.

"Mistress!" Levy fussed desperately, helping her to her feet.

.

"I'm fine," she assured the dainty woman. She quickly climbed to her feet and dusted herself off before turning her dark expression out towards the night. The race in her heartbeat for the moment only saw fit to sicken her. The hoarse rumble in his voice as he spoke to her for the first time in months had her mind emptying with purpose. "But tomorrow, we seek blood…"

.

* * *

.

 ** _Thirty-Four Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

"We just need a little more time," Freed bargained.

.

"He doesn't have time!" Neirah demanded. "If this thing spreads and takes its hold-"

.

"But if it's something he can consciously fight…?" Levy defended.

.

"Then he would have done it _before_ this is what our future became!" Neirah raged fretfully through her tears. "And if we run out of time and get sent back while he's infected than we're going to end up being the cause of all this in the first place!" Neirah shook her head with a desperate whimper. "Please… I can't lose him!"

.

"There is no guarantee that your infinite castings will even purify the magic corrupting him," Freed reasoned gently. "Until Natsu, Erza and Gajeel return with observations of Juvia's condition, we won't be certain."

.

"Laxus has survived your magic before, I'm sure he can do it again," Levy assured her. She quietly clasped Neirah's hand tightly beneath her own. "But you have to stay away from him for now in case he attacks and you get infected too… because right now you're the only defence he has."

.

"I can't… please don't make me sit here knowing he's suffering." Neirah tipped her head back, tears streaming down her face. "If it's really ending, he should be with his family. With me… with Alex and Lyra…"

.

Lucy approached Neirah's hysteric figure slowly before collapsing with her arms around the girl. "You have an incredible gift," Lucy muttered weakly. "Your magic… it has the power to make all of this go away."

.

Neirah turned her devastated gaze towards where Lisanna and Evergreen sobbed over the loss of their loved ones. She couldn't help but feel like she was soon to join them. She couldn't handle the swelling of emotions inside her. She wanted to scream, not sob quietly in a corner.

.

"If you lose this… then everything you see here will be the reality that awaits all of us. Laxus is so strong… he won't give into it without a fight. Not when he knows what's at stake." Lucy buried her face in Neirah's chest with a heart-wrenching snivel. "Please just hold on a little longer."

.

Neirah stared blankly forwards, her heart tearing down the middle. But she stayed. For another lonely hour, she waited.

.

* * *

.

 ** _Thirty-Three Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Neirah came alive once dawn broke through the trees when she saw her brother and his party on approach towards the cabin. "Gajeel," she gasped out hurriedly, rushing out the door towards them. Natsu, Gajeel and Erza had barely emerged from behind the tree line before Neirah was at their feet. "What did you find?" She whimpered hastily. "Juvia. Did she survive?"

.

"We couldn't find any trace of her when we returned," Erza assured her quietly. "She must have awoken and could have stumbled off in any direction." Erza looked at her feet solemnly, her heart heavy for their situation. "She must have been so confused once she could think for herself again… The poor girl…"

.

Neirah's sapphire gaze glossed over with the swell of anxious fervour in her chest. She caught her breath as she tipped her gaze up towards her big brother, who had dropped his palm heavily on the top of her head. "Looks like yer in the green, kid," Gajeel assured her softly. He quietly watched Erza and Natsu walk into the cabin. Neirah turned to follow them when Gajeel jerked her back by the hood on her cloak. "Hey," he started slowly, waiting for her to embrace the privacy they'd found by lingering. "It's my fault he's hurtin'… If he didn't step in, that coulda been me."

.

"He doesn't blame you for this… it could have been any of us. That's just the way he is."

.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Gajeel rumbled softly. "I was kind of a jerk when this whole thing started… But I know now that this ain't his fault." He bowed his head and scoffed through his weak grin. "And he stuck his neck out for me anyways." Gajeel tipped his gaze back with a steadying sigh. "Take good care of 'im, will ya? He's been bankin' some smart remarks during our stay." He turned to face her with a worried grin. "I'm really lookin' forward to payin' him back once we get home…"

.

"You're afraid for him…" Neirah whispered her words tenderly, smiling back at him with affectionate pride.

.

"And don't you forget it."

.

"I remember a time you would have tried anything to make his death look like an accident."

.

Gajeel smiled slyly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I can remember when you coulda done the same." He pulled her against him and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I can't stand to see you like this, so if playin' nice with the other kids is what makes you happy, I'm gonna try my hardest to get along with 'em."

.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "You can go back to pretending to hate him as soon as I'm done."

.

"Good," He quipped playfully in fretful encouragement. "Get on it then."

.

"Right…"

.

* * *

.

Neirah could hear the information passing between parties at her back, Freed and Levy desperately trying to piece together solutions to their safety concerns. The only thing Neirah could think about though was the other side of the door she stared into. Seeing what her husband had become capable of in the future had terrified her, but she could always look to the side and see that next to her, stood the man she'd fallen in love with. The thought of losing that small amount of comfort froze her in place.

.

She reached for the handle before retracting her hand and rethinking her approach. If she was attacked as soon as she advanced, she would lose the only chance she had for saving him. Their mission would fail completely.

.

After a deep inhale, she closed her eyes and faded into the shadows, skirting along the floorboards and into the room. Her stomach turned grimly with the thought of having to treat her own family like an enemy, but the hour she'd spent waiting for her brother's return had really helped to open her eyes to the severity of the situation.

.

She made it into the room but was quickly reforming at the sight of the empty sheets lying in the middle of the floor where she'd left Laxus not long before. Her heart sank and panic rose in her expression. If she was too late, she would never have been able to forgive herself.

.

The sun rising on the opposite side of the dwelling had the room remaining dark save for one corner near the single small window; the opposite corner in which her husband currently lingered. He had his arm hitched up against the wall, his brow braced against his forearm and his back towards her. She grew slightly more confident when she observed the tension in his perspiration dampened body. He was still fighting the magic trying to become a part of him.

.

She slowly approached with a wary eye on his still figure. "Laxus…?" She mewled pitifully, reaching out to lay her fingers against his back.

.

Her touch was a whisper away from his skin when she was interrupted. "Don't," he sneered impatiently. The sentiment caused Neirah's touch to kick back in bewilderment. "The more I try to drown this thing out with the good times, the harder it gets to fight it." He barely turned his head but rolled it just enough against his forearm to allow him to spare her a peripheral glance. "You're lucky… the only reason I've held on this long is that I've been thinkin' of all the things about you that still piss me off." Neirah was silent for a long moment before Laxus managed a small smile through his heavy breaths. Soon, a corresponding grin joined his, but she still flinched when Laxus bared his teeth with a bitter groan. "What sucks is that I still love all the stuff I hate about you. Fuck, I love it so much…"

.

"I always felt more comfortable fighting you," she murmured gently. The golden glow of infinite magic glittered against her fingertips as she approached.

.

Laxus stared into the wall, flexing his fist in bearing. "This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" He grumbled sourly. The grinding pressure in his molars was enough to make his temples ache.

.

"I'm sorry, Sparky," she sympathised. She closed her eyes to rein in her distraught emotions in order to focus. "I'll make it up to you… when we get home."

.

Home. If that wasn't enough to make a tired man smile, nothing was. "Yea…" He panted out apprehensively, bearing down reluctantly in wait. "I'm going to hold you to that one…"

.

* * *

.

 ** _Twenty-Five Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Levy sighed and leant back on her arms. "God, we've been working on this all night…" She groaned, falling back into the slumbering Gajeel's lap. "And we're really no further ahead."

.

"That's not true," Freed defended equally as exhaustedly. "We have formulated a reliable way to defend the rest of you against the threat of this virus."

.

"Yea, but that isn't why they came to the future," Lucy whispered softly. "They need to find out who did this."

.

"The caster of this magic?" Freed ascertained.

.

"Yea," Levy grumbled. "The only clue we have is a woman's voice that Lyra heard when this all started."

.

"And from what you and Bickslow said, there was no one strange working with the future Laxus," Lucy conspired. "I'm sure we would remember somebody joining the guild with that kind of power. It's so strange that she'd just pop up out of the blue to cause everyone so much pain… especially if you really do believe that Laxus was the original target for the casting."

.

"Well, it seems perhaps Bickslow was misguided in claiming that Neirah was the most irrational woman on this continent," Freed sighed in exasperation.

.

"Yea, I think we pretty much gathered that right early on there."

.

"I'm worried about Shads… She's been back in there a really long time," Levy quietly observed. "It's been a while since I've heard any commotion, but we'd know if something bad happened, right?"

.

"Knowing those two? Definitely," Lucy agreed. "I probably wouldn't have a house… or a head."

.

"I'm going to go check on them." Levy slowly climbed to her feet.

.

"Do you want to wake Gajeel up just in ca-"

.

Levy cut Lucy off before she could finish. "It's ok Lu, he needs to rest. We all need our rest." She hushed her tone as she shuffled timidly towards the door Neirah had vanished behind earlier that morning. "If Shads really was in trouble, Gajeel wouldn't be sleeping to begin with…" She giggled to herself at the thought. "He really is like a big guard dog." She stopped in front of the doorway to silently observe, listening for signs of turmoil on the other side. Then, with rattling fingers, she slowly pushed the door to the side.

.

Levy's breathing hitched as she watched the couple sit quietly in the centre of the room, she had nothing to fear. Neirah slowly slipped a twisted and damp rag from between Laxus' teeth, the release causing the man to hack hoarsely for breath as he unclenched his jaw.

.

"How're you feeling?" Neirah whispered tenderly. She sighed in relief and cradled his head to her chest. With the perspiration soaking his brow and clothes, she knew it wouldn't be long before he was begging for a shower.

.

Laxus closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Like Natsu set me on fire and then your brother punted me off a damn cliff."

.

Neirah caught a teary-eyed chuckle in the back of her throat. "Oh like you'd know what being punted feels like."

.

Laxus wrapped his arms around her waist, relieved fingertips revelling in the familiarities of her pressed up against him. "Hey, you aren't always there to protect me from the stupidity of my dreams," he breathed out quietly. He closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh, settling against her shoulder as he basked in her familiar scent. He wished it was tangible, the feeling of his chest tightening passionately. He would give anything to squeeze the life out of it rather than having to remind himself that his woman wasn't as durable as he needed in the moment.

.

"As long as I'm here to protect you from the nightmares that are real, I can live with that," she mused affectionately. She gently combed her fingers through his damp hair and laughed feebly as he pressed a lazy kiss against the side of her neck, the effort easily mistaken for inadvertent affection. She tipped her lips to his ear with a crooked little smile. "I don't think I've seen you this worn out since our son was conceived," she whispered cheekily.

.

"If you had any idea what kind of hell was goin' on in my head a couple minutes ago, you'd be lucky I didn't have that kinda energy left." He groaned and nuzzled more deeply into her presence. "It feels so fucking good," he muttered headily. "Just like this…"

"Neirah laughed vaguely against his snuggles. "Listen, Daddy, I think nostalgia is getting the best of you. You'd better make sure to clean that mouth out before we get home or you're grounded."

.

"Fuck, ground me…"

.

Neirah's brow knotted in a desperate smile as she threw her arms tightly around his shoulders, her hands clasping his head to her breast. "Please don't scare me like that again… I couldn't imagine my life without you."

.

From against her nape, his lips curled into an impish little grin. "You'd walk a lot straighter…"

.

Levy flinched as a hollow crack filled the room before she slowly slipped out and closed the door behind her. As soon as they were out of earshot, she burst out into simultaneous tears and laughter on her way to inform the others of the good news.

.

"Nice, hit a guy while he's down. It really is just like old times." Laxus groaned, leaning back to roll his assaulted shoulder. "I'm not broken anymore, you don't have to hit so hard."

.

"You were being a dirty old man," she scolded whilst turning her nose up at him. "That's one footstep of your grandfather's I refuse to let you follow in."

.

Laxus smiled sadly as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work the strain of his internal battle out of his tired body. "Y'know, if the old man was still around, I bet he'd have this cleaned up already."

.

Neirah sighed softly and laid one hand on his cheek, drawing his temple into her gentle kiss. "He never would have been able to kill his own flesh and blood…"

.

"But if he were here, he wouldn't've let it get this far." He reached out and slipped his fingers through her hair. "He would've knocked our heads together and locked us in a room until we got along again."

.

Neirah's brow furrowed sadly as she watched anguish flood his weary features. "You really wanted to kill me…?"

.

Laxus dropped his gaze with guilt and heaved an exhausted sigh. "I felt like I was fallin' apart. Like when you're too tired or too sick to think, that weird daze you find yourself in just before you start to dream."

.

"And voices?"

.

"There were none," Laxus assured her in frustration. "If anything, the voice was my own. I just couldn't stop the urge I had to…"

.

"To hurt me…"

.

"Anyone," he defended. "Not just you. You just happened to be the one sitting in front of me." Neirah dropped her gaze deep in thought and her inquiries surfaced another memory in the back of his mind. "But now… now that I think of it… I did hear something strange when I was fighting that jerk."

.

"You mean yourself?" She teased sardonically.

.

"Yep, me-jerk, same thing," he chided lowly. "Someone was talking to me when I was fighting him. Not in my head… just… out loud."

.

Neirah's expression wrinkled quizzically. "You didn't recognise their voice?"

.

"Nope. She sounded pretty full of herself though, and musta knew me. Salty bitch…"

.

Neirah's breath caught in a desperate attempt to steady her racing heartbeat. "She?"

.

"Yea."

.

"Did you see what she looked like?!" She demanded.

.

"Uh, no why?"

.

"The only thing we have to go on is the scream Lyra heard the day this started. What did this woman say?"

.

He groaned dismally. "Let's just say she's the type of freak that gets off on bein' in control."

.

Neirah's head spun until she thought she'd be sick. "Laxus… I know you hate relating to the primal side of your magic… but do you think you could find her by the scent she left behind?"

.

"Neirah you can-"

.

"Laxus, please! All we have to do is find out who she is and then get the hell out of here! Freed has a way of protecting us from her living magic so all we have to do is be able to identify her in the past before all of this starts!"

.

Laxus was silent for a long moment before he expelled a heavy sigh of compliance. "I'm gonna need one heck of a breather before I try to stand up and do anything productive," he warned her humbly. "You weren't exactly gentle."

.

Neirah snorted impishly. "Yea, well it's not exactly easy trying to separate toxic magic particles from the ones you carry inside you either. I may as well have been counting your blood cells-"

.

Neirah's breath caught behind her lips as they were interrupted by his and moments later she was melding submissively into his kiss. She sighed blissfully as her softened expression found his upon departure.

.

"When was the last time I told you how amazing you were?" He murmured proudly.

.

"I don't know," she cooed playfully. "When was the last time I had a hard time walking straight?"

.

He smiled a crooked grin as he rolled his fingertips over her curled lips. "For the record, that snarky attitude is one of the things still on my hate list."

.

"Hey, this snarky attitude might have saved your life." She purred confidently, dusting her hands over his bandaged chest. "A little gratitude would be nice."

.

He groaned reluctantly with the rise of his desperate hunger, his fingers too weak for the strength in which he wanted to hold her. "Neirah, I'm too tired for this kind of talk. Don't make this hurt more than it has to."

.

"Well, I'm sorry Sparky-"

.

"Hate it."

.

"But last time you almost died you set some pretty high standards of apology so don't blame me for my ravenous expectations." She climbed into his lap and took his face in her hands. "Too tired, you really are starting to sound like an old man."

.

Laxus narrowed his gaze on her resentfully. "I'll remember this when you hit thirty."

.

She giggled musically as his affectionate kisses found her chin. "But I like your optimism, Prince," she purred. "That's the kind of attitude that's going to get us home."

.

"Or the attitude that's gonna make sure I die a happy man."

.

"Annnd there's the cynic."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Seventeen Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Neirah's eyes flew open with a startled breath and moments after, she shot up from against the floor. "Oh god, we overslept." She whimpered frailly, leaning over to gently rouse her spouse. "Laxus, wake up." She pleaded her words in a squeaky voice before gently rattling his bulky shoulder. "We have to get back to-"

.

She emitted a startled yelp when Laxus dropped his arm over her neck and dragged her back into the sheets beneath it. "You know the rules." He rumbled possessively, raking her doll-like figure up against his chest despite her defiant whimpers. "After a night like that, the kids feed themselves."

.

Neirah twisted her lips to one side with a low growl, her cheeks colouring with guilt. "Damn it, it's bad enough we behaved like that in Lucy and Natsu's _home_. Can you please try to stay focused?!"

.

He grunted as she threw his arm from her neck so that she could scramble throughout the room and gather her clothes. "Natsu?" He murmured vacantly, the covers falling from his bare chest as he sat up against the floorboards. "Damn… I'm behind." He rested his head in his palm for a moment before Neirah tossed his pants into his lap.

.

"Put your pants on, Sparky. I'm _opening_ that door!"

.

Laxus sighed in defeat. "Jeez, I was just doin' what I was told… Expectations and shit…"

.

* * *

.

Neirah threw open the door to find that she and Laxus weren't the only one's who had slept in. Laying her thumb and forefinger against her teeth she released a high-frequency whistle that had everyone in the room falling out of dreamland. "You'll have to forgive me, but we have a little less than a day left to fix the biggest disaster in the history of my screwed-up life and I'm a little stressed out about it," she rushed out frantically.

.

"Crap, you're right," Levy whined apologetically as she crawled out of Gajeel's lap. "We were up so late trying to find a way to defend ourselves that we completely forgot about finding out who's responsible."

.

"I thought you guys were plannin' on askin' the kid?" Gajeel suggested groggily.

.

"We've got something better planned!" Neirah encouraged enthusiastically as she helped her big brother to his feet.

.

"And what's that?"

.

"I get to live up to my name," Laxus informed the man casually. He lazily stepped out of the room as he started to button his shirt over his bandages.

.

"What, _idiot_? 'Cause that don't sound real helpful," Gajeel sneered impatiently. "Don't get cocky just 'cause yer feelin' better. I'm gonna cave yer skull in for worryin' Shads like that."

.

Neirah sighed and held her palms against her brother's chest to restrain his fury. "No, I think he's referring to the hound."

.

"Huh?"

.

Neirah stepped back and drew the attention of all her companions. "Laxus thinks he heard a voice of a woman taunting him while he was fighting himself."

.

"I don't _think_ ," Laxus defended impatiently. "The witch was there."

.

"Whatever," Neirah proceeded to dismiss. "The point is, is that we're going to try and find her. When we do, all we have to do is detain her and bring her back here to see if Alex recognises her. I'm almost certain she's the one responsible."

.

"I still can't believe that someone would do this," Levy whispered grimly while holding her fingers to her chin. "What reason could they possibly have?"

.

"Evil doesn't always need a reason…" Freed stepped towards Neirah with a confident expression on his features. "But if you think you have located the wizard responsible, the good news is that we should be able to give you an immunity to their magic."

.

"And how long will that take…?"

.

Freed heaved a heavy sigh with Neirah's direct inquiry. "Well, that would depend on how many of you I need to defend. The scriptures take time to translate and-"

.

"Just the four of us," Laxus assured him sternly, stepping more directly into their conversation. "I know I'm gonna sound like a jerk for sayin' this, but we're the one's who gotta make it back to a different time without this crap tailin' us."

.

Freed gave him a supportive nod. "That's true," he agreed. "And you don't have much time."

.

"Not to mention if this chick you heard really is the culprit, she's probably keepin' herself pretty well hidden," Bickslow added theoretically. "Especially because she's not immune to her own magic. If she got caught in the crossfire between Nei and Laxus of the future, she'd be screwed."

.

"I never thought of that," Levy mewled in disappointment. "How are we even supposed to find her? There's no telling whether or not Laxus is going to be able to pick up on her presence when we make it back into Hargeon."

.

"Tsk…" Their party turned to look at the lightning dragon slayer expectantly with his chortle of amusement. "Do I have to think of everything?"

.

"What's got you so confident?" Bickslow queried curiously. "You think you know where she's hiding?"

.

Laxus gave a confident smirk as he looked back at the man. "I don't have to," he assured them, much to their surprise.

.

"Laxus, if you're just trying to get out of using your nose-!" Neirah started to scold.

.

"Not like that," he chided swiftly. "You just get me immune to that posing son-of-a-bitch and I'll do the rest."

.

"Posing…?" Freed murmured worrisomely. "You don't mean your future self, do you?!"

.

"Yep."

.

"Laxus, you can't! It's far too dangerous!"

.

"Look," Laxus defended confidently. "We don't have time to think about how crazy it is. All I know is that whoever originally cast this spell was obviously out to get me. When she was watching me play scratching post for my counterpart she was lovin' every bit of it. So, whoever she is, she's got it out for me and gets a kick out of watching people suffer. None of you can deny that."

.

Neirah ground her teeth as silence filled the room, her fists balled at her sides as she waited for someone more flamboyant to drive a wrench into his plan. When she observed her brother biting his tongue in acceptance of Laxus' theory, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. "I am _not_ using you as bait to draw out a psychopath that we know nothing about," she seethed under her breath.

.

Laxus gave her a sardonic grin, prepared to draw life from their playful banter before he'd finally convinced her otherwise. "What's the matter, Princess, you sca-"

.

"Don't you dare 'Princess' me!" She demanded. "Of course I'm scared! This isn't like 'old times' where friends and family can back us up! This isn't Fairy Tail's fight, Laxus, it's **ours**!" Laxus caught his breath and diverted his gaze sheepishly as she threw her hand out towards their allies. "The people standing here in front of you are all that's left and you're lucky you have them! If we get in too deep, there is no final hope – We _are_ the final hope!" Neirah recoiled in on herself with the sudden weight of panic overcoming her, her eyes wide with fear. "This isn't like before… If something happens to you… if time runs out… Fairy Tail loses its master… Lyra and Alex lose their father… I lose my husband."

.

"Would you just shut up already!" Laxus thundered impatiently, startling the room with the actuality of conflict between them. "Don't think I'm not aware what's at stake here! I can see what's goin' on in this world just as easily as you can." Neirah swelled with rage and anguish as she glared back at him, preparing to bare fangs once more. "But you said it yourself, if we run out of time, we're all screwed anyway! As someone who's been married to me for nearly ten years, you should know that _patience_ isn't really a strength of mine. And while we're on the subject, let me remind you that the more you debate this, the more time we lose in setting things right."

.

"Laxus-!"

.

Neirah caught her breath and flinched as Laxus threw his finger out towards her with an unwavering look in his determined expression. "And before you go ranting about the fear of losing someone, you just fucking remember that I put you in the _ground_." He demanded with a hoarse catch in his voice thanks to the emotion welling within him. "I lived _fourteen_ years without you in my life and the only reason you're standing there right now is because of the people you see here in this room – and your son. Who right now, is at home in bed six years and three days in the past waiting for his mom to come back to him."

.

Neirah was struck silent, her lips trembling with the need to defy his logic only to have her words trapped within the walls of her pride.

.

He was right.

.

Neirah swung around towards the door to hide her tears before throwing it open to observe the quiet afternoon outside.

.

"Shadow? Where are you going?" Levy cooed worrisomely.

.

"I- I need some air," Neirah rattled out weakly. "Start by protecting Laxus from the living magic." She demanded through her teeth, ignoring the hitch in her husband's breath behind her. "Because if he gets infected again before that happens I might just kill him myself." She growled, slamming the door shut behind her.

.

Laxus hesitated to make sure she wasn't going to turn around, wondering why he didn't know better, before heaving a heavy sigh and dropping his head. Becoming uncomfortable with how silent the room had grown, he turned to where Gajeel glared at him venomously from his side. "Wow," Laxus rumbled bleakly. "I can _feel_ you hating me…"


	9. A Love that Defies

**_A Love that Defies_**

* * *

.

.

Neirah threw her arms down at her side and heaved an exhausted sigh before screeching to the still air around her. "Damn him!" She wailed in devastation.

.

"Neirah? Are you ok?"

.

Neirah swung around to face where Erza had started her approach. "Erza? What are you doing out here? The cabin is the only thing under the concealment spell Freed and Levy laid last night."

.

Erza sighed and looked over her shoulder suspiciously. "Yes, but I thought I had heard something rustling around out here earlier this morning."

.

Neirah sighed sadly. "And you thought it was a good idea to face it on your own?"

.

Erza gave the woman a weak smile. "My life isn't as valued as yours, Neirah," she assured her tenderly. "I simply thought breakfast might have been a welcome thought, but the beast seems to have eluded me."

.

Neirah's heart sank hearing the words uttered from her friend's lips. "Please don't say those things," she pleaded. "The things I've seen these past few days are going to haunt me for the rest of my life."

.

Erza reached out and caught her friend in a kind embrace. "And please don't take offence but I hope that is a long time…"

.

"Erza…"

.

"I want to accompany you when you leave today," Erza assured her softly. "Whatever happens, I promise I will see you all home safe. For Lyra… and Jellal, and everyone else who has been touched by this madness. Even if it costs me my life. I have faith that whether I live or die this day is irrelevant because when you return home, you will erase this dark cloud from the kingdom for good. None of it will have happened."

.

"You're a good friend Erza." Neirah smiled back at her and dismissed her back inside. "I'll be in shortly… I just… need to walk it off."

.

Erza gave her an acceptant nod before entering without her.

.

Neirah gave her teary eyes a rub and heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know which is harder," she whispered gently to herself. "Watching my friend's die or telling my husband he's right…" She walked out towards the edge of the clearing and stared through the trees towards Hargeon. "When did I stop believing in him?"

.

With the sudden wisp of wind passing her by, her heart sank. She gave a dry swallow as she prepared to choke down her pride and admit her weakness to the man she knew lingered at her back. Of course, he'd follow her outside, there was no 'breather' when one was married. She sighed and tipped her head back, looking up into the treetops. "I'm sorry, Laxus," she whispered softly. "I don't know what came over me… I guess I panicked." Her brow furrowed when there came no response at her back. 'He's not honestly going to pretend that he's not there when he knows I can smell him is he?' She ground her teeth realising that he was likely waiting to hear the words exclusively. "Ok! Fine!" She demanded, swinging around to face him. "I was wro-"

.

Neirah's entire world stopped spinning when she came eye to crimson eye with the man that her husband had narrowly survived the night before. She was generally quick in her retaliations, but the nearness she had to the monster before her had her choking on her own breath, much less articulation. She wanted to warn the others, but if their concealment spell had worked, she would only be destroying their cover.

.

'Why have I been able to think about this for so long?' She thought desperately, perfectly still before his tense figure. 'If he wanted me dead… he wouldn't have waited for me to notice him would he…?' She gave another hard swallow, too afraid to move before she knew what was happening. She was brave enough to clench her fist at her side and prepare her heart for defence if need be but she couldn't waste time lingering in his presence. "What do you want?" She demanded impatiently. She tried to treat him in the same off-putting manner she'd used to, cool and confident detachment.

.

He was silent but his predatory gaze remained locked with hers. It was a strange sensation; staring back into his unwavering expression like he was some sort of feral beast, wondering what or if he was thinking at all. She didn't want to provoke him, but she hoped that if maybe she was loud enough, her friends may hear her from inside the cabin. That and she was seriously uncomfortable with the steamy heat escaping with his heavy breaths. "I asked you a question!" She demanded.

.

Tension… she could see it as clear as day. 'He's…'

.

"Fight me." His words had her catching her breath. He spoke bluntly and with a rusty rasp in his voice; one that someone might obtain by not speaking frequently.

.

Neirah took a deep breath before stepping away from his nearness. "Why do you want to fight us!?" She demanded furiously. "Can't you see we're here to hel-"

.

Her shrill squeal was caught behind the palm of his hand as he threw it up against her face and pushed her into the brush to conceal her. She considered biting his hand as her head cracked back against the trunk of a tree, but with the sparks she'd observed against his other hand's fingertips, she rethought rebellion. 'No,' she thought in alarm. 'Freed hasn't made me immune to his magic yet!'

.

"Fight!" He demanded again.

.

Neirah watched him carefully as he denied his expression, his other hand flexing at his side like he was trying to keep it from fidgeting. 'Fight?'

.

* * *

.

 _"You're lucky… the only reason I've held on this long is that I've been thinkin' of all the things about you that still piss me off."_

.

* * *

.

"I hate her," he whispered raggedly. That was when she noticed the sheen of perspiration visible on his brow even though he'd barely moved since he'd joined her. "I…" He diverted his gaze, clearly ignorant to her pained whines as her jaw ached beneath his fierce, subduing grasp. "I've… always…"

.

'Felt more comfortable when we're fighting.' Neirah drew her knee up into his abdomen, trying not to gripe about how conflicted she was with the action. She freed herself before summoning a shadowed scythe to her side in the reflection of her future identity. "Tell me why you've come!" Her command masked her concern for the man she ached to salvage from the spell that weakened when the victim forgot how much they loved the person standing before them. Obviously, Laxus had grown so resentful of her future-self that he was starting to regain control of his actions. She swelled with pride as the man glowered back at her, fingers furiously tense with his resistance to his need to tear her apart.

.

She tried not to make her uncertainty too obvious as he threw out his hand towards Hargeon's ports. "Two… two hours north… east," he staggered out. He snapped his jaw shut, one hand clasping his head tightly. He ground his teeth and opened one eye to stare at the ground, his finger grip tightening in his hair. "She's-"

.

Neirah lunged forwards and swept his feet out from underneath him with her scythe, skirting along the shadows to avoid a retaliating strike as she readied another of her own. She became perceptible mid-flight, her legs wrapping around his neck as she sank her scythe into the earth over his shoulder; using the stability of its grip to take him with her as she flipped head over heels. She gave an exasperated war cry before taking into account where he landed, tearing her weapon from the earth before sending her spell his way. "Reaper's shadow guillotine!" She made her command, the shadows striking his lack of resistance to her attack.

.

She drew blood on her lower lip with how tightly she had clenched it between her teeth to keep from crying. The year was X791. The dark guild Marionette had taken control of her, buried the despicable spells within her mind against her will and forced her against him. Twenty years later, she held the cursed weapon in her hand and watched as the man who'd become her husband fought to aid her; like he had all those years ago.

.

She wanted to scream and cry her heart out, but she knew that the more terrible memories she surfaced within him, the more control he'd be able to regain. She watched him stagger to his feet, his downcast gaze kept from her line of sight. But pooling at his feet in the foliage she'd upturned with her attack, she could see his tears falling. She knew she wasn't at risk of hurting him, not in the way she would have preferred…

.

"Dragon hunter," he murmured weakly, flickering in and out of control.

.

"Tell me where she is!" Neirah demanded, preparing the terrible hellfire dark arts in case she needed to negate an elemental strike. "TELL ME!" Her demands were furious as she tried her hardest not to break down in agony. Deranged beyond recognition or not, he was her husband.

.

"Light…"

.

"NO!" She screeched her denial as she lunged towards him, her scythe replacing itself with her bladed whip. "Reaper's shadow – Ring Master!" She demanded, the first of her tears falling to the earth as she snapped the weapon with the flick of her wrist. Her heart ached as she drew it back and sent it sailing towards the unretaliating mass he'd become.

.

She couldn't even bare the sight of him laying out his forearm for the blades to curl around, the sight of his self-sacrifice shredding her reserve as the earth stained with his blood beneath torn flesh. She was too weak to fight back when he pulled back against her weapon, sending her toppling towards him in a hysteric fit of tears. When he wrapped his bloody arm around her, her whip vanished and she couldn't help but fall into his embrace. She threw her arms around him and gave a desperate screech of agonised fury.

.

"Two," he reiterated shortly against her ear as he rested his exhausted expression on her shoulder. "Past Hargeon's ports…"

.

"Who is there?" She begged desperately.

.

"The dragon hunter," he assured her feebly. His grip on her slowly began to tighten with the fading of his control.

.

She sank her fingernails into his shoulders to hold him tight to her chest as she begged for more information. "I don't need to know where the other me is!" She demanded. "I need to know who started th-"

.

Her eyes widened as he pulled away from her and threw both hands up against her face, his powerful grip keeping her still as she trembled beneath his kiss. When he pulled away from her, he had obviously lost the strength to look back into her eyes because he had shoved her back far enough that she couldn't observe the fury tightening his body as badly. He ground his teeth, his tears like acid on his cheeks as he felt his control slipping through his flexed fingertips. "You're still the light…"

.

Neirah's brow furrowed as she sat on the forest floor watching where the clearing had become still around her once again. "Laxus…"

.

* * *

.

Neirah turned to meet the gaze of the other's in the room when she opened the door to Natsu and Lucy's cabin, her heart breaking as she watched her husband's expression drop in a panic to see that she was in a state of disarray since leaving and covered in blood that carried his scent. "Neirah-!"

.

She dropped to here knees with an agonised cry, holding her head in her hands as Laxus rushed to her side.

.

"What the hell hap-"

.

"Don't touch me!" Her demands were desperate as the weight of her heartache threatened to break her entirely.

.

"No, but that's his blood," Gajeel ascertained in horror upon joining Laxus' side. "Shads, get it together! What the heck happened out there!"

.

Neirah crawled slightly forwards and rested her brow against her husband's knees, wrapping her arms around his legs as she cried. "I'm sorry… you were right… I was wrong," she admitted pitifully from behind her tears.

.

"Do you think I give a crap about that right now?!" Neirah flinched, her tears falling harder as Laxus hit his knees on the ground next to her and held her head against his chest. "Please don't tell me it's over," he begged as his mind raced towards the worst possible conclusion. "Neirah, please… You can't do this to me again."

.

"Two hours north-east past Hargeon's ports," she whimpered frailly. "She's there…"

.

"Who's there?" Erza asked desperately. "Your future self?"

.

"No," Neirah whimpered weakly. "The woman who started this. The dragon hunt."

.

Laxus pulled away from her and looked down into her pained expression. "How do you know this?"

.

Neirah smiled sadly and laid her hands on either side of his face, holding him still as she composed her words. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you," she whispered delicately as she pulled him into a gentle kiss.

.

He looked back at her quizzically for a long moment a little disturbed that he already tasted himself on her lips. "I… he told you?"

.

"I'm not infected," she whispered certainly. "He didn't use his magic once."

.

"Then let's take this as a blessing and get you prepared for the day," Freed demanded hurriedly in preparation. "He has never shown mercy before. It might be a sign that we've reached a breaking point."

.

"I think you're wrong," she whispered softly.

"What…?"

.

"If he hadn't, we would all be dead right now, even his past self."

.

"That didn't feel like mercy," Laxus demanded roughly.

.

"It doesn't matter." Neirah decided, standing to wipe her tears. "What does is that we know that the person responsible for this is closer than we thought."

.

"Hate to break it to ya, but what if we get there and she runs and hides or somethin'?" Bickslow reasoned.

.

Neirah smiled back at him confidently and reached out to take Laxus' hand as he joined in standing alongside her. "Because we have bait." She ignored the uncertainty in Laxus' expression and tightened her hold on his hand. "We're going to use Laxus' plan."

.

"But how do you know the other Laxus will show up?" Erza asked gently.

.

"Because he's the one that's given us a meeting place," she assured equally as softly.

.

"I don't like this…" Laxus rumbled quietly.

.

Neirah turned to face him with a dismissive smile. "This was your idea."

.

"Yea but now that it's my idea twice in one day, it's freakin' me out… I feel weird trusting me…"

.

"Then trust me." She wrapped her arms around his waist as she stepped into his chest. He laid his palm against the back of her head and tipped his lips to her hair. "You got a small taste of what it was like to suffer what he's been living with for over a year. Beneath it, you're the same person. You'd do anything to see it come to an end…"

.

"Ok…" He agreed weakly, closing his eyes for a moment to indulge in her presence. "This nightmare ends today."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Thirteen Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

"Alright. You're ready," Freed assured her softly with a hopeful smile on his face. "I have given you immunity to her living magic… The rest is up to you five."

.

"Hargeon is an hour away on its own," Levy whispered softly as she slipped her notebook back into the backpack on Gajeel's shoulders. "Then, if what Laxus said was accurate, we have another two hours past that until we come to an area that this woman is apparently hiding out in."

.

"We arrived late two nights ago," Neirah added solemnly, raising her hood around her face. "So late tonight, our time is up. We'll return to our time whether we're ready or not…" She looked back at their friends, almost all that was left of their family from back home. "Thank you all for everything."

.

"You sure you don't want me to come along?" Natsu suggested eagerly. "There's a heck of a lot riding on this…"

.

Neirah slowly shook her head. "You have your family here to look after… for as long as it takes these memories to fade."

.

"It's scary that it's just all going to disappear…" Lucy whimpered sadly, looking out the window to where Lilian was held tight in her father's embrace. She turned away with a small laugh before looking towards where her son slept soundly in his father's arms. "Jeez, what am I saying… Countless friends have lost their lives and we live in danger of leaving the forest to find food," she reasoned with herself solemnly. "Why would I ever regret losing this time…?"

.

Erza reached out and took Lucy in her arms as silent tears rolled over her face. "I'm sure you and Natsu will still have a son someday," Erza assured her. "But is this the world you really want to raise him in?"

.

Lucy shook her head and dabbed tears from her eyes. "No…"

.

Neirah turned and watched where Laxus was quietly observing his son and daughter trying to comfort an unhappy Lilian. She reached out and slid her fingers between his with an encouraging smile. As a result, he spared her a glance before returning his attention to the window. "How can I miss them when they're right here?"

.

"Let's put this all behind us, Daddy," she whispered tenderly. She quietly raised on her tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Let's just pretend it's one of those weird dreams where Natsu sets you on fire and then punts you off a cliff."

.

Even thought Neirah chuckled at her own remark, Laxus' expression didn't waver as he continued to stare out the window and murmur his dry retort. "It was your brother that punted me off the cliff."

.

"Whatever," she mused playfully as she stepped out the door.

.

Freed slowly approached Laxus and looked up at him solemnly. "Good luck, Master," he whispered quietly. "For Evergreen, Lisanna, Mira… all... and all the lives lost…"

.

Laxus smiled sincerely and laid his hand against his friend's shoulder. "All I gotta do is get my ass kicked," Laxus assured him tenderly before turning to follow his wife. "You gotta admit, even I'm gonna have a hard time screwin' that up."

.

Freed's tears began to fall even as he tried to remain sunny as Laxus waved his hand back over his shoulder.

.

"See you guys yesterday," he teased upon parting.

.

* * *

.

Juvia curled her fingers around in Lyra's hair as the girl finally found peace behind her sealed eyelids.

.

"Good luck daddy," Lyra whispered to the silent air in her bedroom.

.

* * *

.

"See you soon," Lyra whispered as she watched her parents exit the clearing they stayed behind in.

.

* * *

.

 ** _Ten and a Half Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

It was far too quiet as their party of five travelled and Neirah wasn't sure she could take much more. "Be on alert," she cautioned. "We've been walking for almost two hours now so depending on speed, we could be anywhere near our mark."

.

"I don't know why, but I gotta bad-" Gajeel grunted in pain as he was forced to literally bite his tongue as Laxus reached out and snapped his mouth shut.

.

"We all saw what happened to Bickslow when he got cocky," he warned.

.

"I'm so nervous," Levy admitted bashfully. "I haven't stopped shaking for the last hour."

.

"It's alright," Erza assured her softly. "All it takes is one of you laying eyes on this woman and then you can all retreat while I hold our enemies back. All you need to do is be able to identify her when you return to the past."

.

"That just sounds wrong," Neirah growled lightly. "Fairy Tail isn't supposed to run and hide… We're supposed to ban together and vanquish our enemies."

.

"Tsk, this comin' from the woman who bitched at me for taking things lightly." Laxus teased, dropping his palm onto Neirah's hooded head. "When we get home, I'm gonna make you eat those words."

.

"Not after I take a hot bath and drink the most delicious and refreshing cup of tea in my life!" She quipped back enthusiastically. She and Laxus startled when Gajeel popped up behind them, one arm around each of them.

.

"When I find out which one of you clowns in responsible for this mess, I'm gonna razz you about it until you go crazy all on yer own."

.

"Oh, like we were ever far off," Neirah sassed.

.

"Speak for yourself," Laxus groaned in retaliation.

.

Levy smiled with a soft sigh and closed her eyes. "I'm going to go right back to the tree I was reading under and stay there until I finish my book." She giggled softly and turned to face them. "And then I'm-" She withheld the end of her sentence when she met Erza's lonely smile as the scarred woman walked among them. "Oh… Uhm… change of topic guys?"

.

Erza smiled back at Levy gratefully. "It's ok, really," she assured her whimsically. She looked down at her battered body covered from head to toe in marks of her grim future. "I just hope… that when things go back to normal I know to appreciate the world that surrounds me in the good and the bad."

.

Neirah smiled knowingly and slipped her hand in Erza's. "I think you've always been that way," she assured her kindly. "How about this, when we get back to the past, the first thing I will do is find you and we'll go out for tea and cake together."

.

Erza smiled back at her emotionally, clearing her throat with the tears welling inside her. "That sounds n-"

.

"Would you just look. Can I _get_ any luckier?"

.

"I told you not to say anything!" Laxus demanded, swinging around to face the voice speaking behind them.

.

"What impeccable timing," the dominatrix purred. Her spiked high heels were muffled by the sandy path beneath their feet, but her presence had more than been announced. "What a delightful coincidence, I was just looking for you."

.

"No," Neirah whimpered gently. "H-he… he said… I was sure…" Her heart sank with the consideration that she'd fallen into a trap, her blood chilling with uncertainty.

.

"Lucy!" Levy cried out, lunging towards where their futuristic foe tossed the unconscious blonde down at their feet.

.

"No," Gajeel rumbled softly. "But if she's got Lucy…"

.

"Where are Natsu and the others!?" Levy demanded desperately, holding Lucy's bloodied head to her chest as the girl narrowly clung to her life. "What about their son!?"

.

Future Neirah threw her hand out in front of her and checked her golden claws, a disconcerted expression on her face. "Well, it seemed rather pointless for me to drag the dead along with me. Not when the living provide so much more leverage."

.

"What did you say?!" Laxus hissed venomously. His fist clenched so tightly at his side that he thought it'd break under the pressure.

.

"Where's Lily!?" Gajeel demanded furiously.

.

"Oh, don't worry, your little cat friend is safe back at my fortress with your ex-wife while I hunt," she casually informed. "They await my return with the head of my enemy." She raised a nail to her lip in contemplation. "Oh, that's right, the leverage." The Empress took a step forwards before reaching down and tossing Levy away from where she'd held Lucy's broken figure. "Now then, whispers in the woods say that my little imposter was the last person to see him. Tell me, where is he now? Speak quickly and I will end the girl so she doesn't have to suffer the sensation of bleeding out a slow and agonising death with the sight of me slaughtering her family fresh in her mind."

.

"Monster…"

.

The Empress tipped her head to the side with a gentle hum of inquiry as she heard her shadow from the past speak. "Oh?"

.

Shadow had had all she could take, her body trembling with the heat of so much unbridled rage she thought she'd melt her own flesh from her bones. "Alex… Lyra…" Her golden reptilian gaze flashed luminescent to match her evil counterparts as she raised it to face her. "I've had enough of crying!" She demanded, lunging forwards.

.

She threw her cloak to the side to reveal that her flesh had darkened with the appearance of her black scales, golden luminous cracks lighting between them as white gold hair cascaded around her hips.

.

"Shadow!" Levy demanded, climbing to her feet in alarm. "Gajeel, you have to stop her! Neirah is too dangerous to stand against! If she-" Levy's words caught in her throat as she turned in horror to see that Gajeel's resolve had cracked, leaving his body coated in black steel scales and his fangs barred wrathfully.

.

"I'm with Shads," he growled vehemently. "I don't care if she is a damned god, NOBODY LAYS A FINGER ON MY KID AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

.

Levy held her arms up and watched as Gajeel kicked up dust to join his sister in combat. "Laxus!" Levy whined, hoping he'd help them see reason.

.

"We've got bigger problems," he rumbled. He stared himself in the eye from where they had been joined by their previously expected party.

.

Erza requipped into her purgatory armour with a determined flash in her gaze. "I feel like we were led into a trap," she murmured grimly.

.

"No… we're not dead yet," Laxus admitted slowly, unclasping his cloak and dropping it to the earth at his feet. "It's Neirah's turn to be right." He lowered his stance and glared right back at his shadow, the seething mass of tension wound up before him just waiting to release its frustrations. "Keep an eye on my second wife," he ordered. "I don't want her getting hungry and going after one of the three I need to take back with me."

.

Erza gave a sharp nod before backing from his side. "Understood, Master."

.

Laxus closed his eyes with a settling sigh, and then the moment he opened them with the subtlest of golden sparks crawling between his fingertips, his enemy launched his attack.

.

* * *

.

"Adorable. You think you stand a chance against the Golden Dragon Divine." The deranged Empress sang mid-flight.

.

Gajeel gave her a wicked smirk. "Man, d'you get all that ego from yer husband er what?"

.

Her gaze flashed maliciously as she drew her arms back in preparation for her attack. "How dare you speak to me like-"

.

Bursting into sight behind her in a brilliant dance of light particles, their chaotic god slayer ripped her demonic shadow's wings from her back and sent her down towards the earth with a deafening screech. "I don't take well to big ego's," Shadow hissed. She glared down to where her future counterpart glared right back.

.

"Let's remind her where she came from," Gajeel suggested as he joined Shadow's side.

.

"You have no power against me!" The woman defended in a crazed distress. "Hellfire spells were created specifically to nullify your elemental attacks!"

.

"Then this should pose no threat to you," Shadow hissed.

.

"Solid script! FIRE!" Levy demanded, taking the deranged woman by surprise from behind her.

.

"Expel devastation!" The Empress demanded, nullifying Levy's elemental strike. "How dare you inter-" Her sixth sense hummed as she caught the determined cries of her opponents combined.

.

"Then take em' both at once!" Gajeel roared, striking from above in sync with his sister.

.

"Our unison raid," the dominatrix murmured in panic.

.

"That's right!" Shadow wailed.

.

"Fallen god's guillotine!"

.

Erza was quick on the draw to requip into her adamantine armour to defend Levy from the blast of Neirah and Gajeel's strike. "Thanks, Erza!" Levy congratulated.

.

"Right, now stay back," Erza encouraged. "I have a feeling she's not going to like this…"

.

The Empress seethed vengefully as she wiped at the blood that leaked over her jaw. "Blood," she hissed in distress. "Nobody has made me bleed in months…"

.

"I think we struck a nerve." Gajeel crooned devilishly, bro fisting his determined little sister.

.

"That's how a shadow kicks a divine's preppy little ass," she mused sardonically.

.

Crimson silk fluttered weakly moments before the earth cracked beneath the swell of magical energy emitted from their overconfident opponent. After a moment of her hair darkening at her back, her skin blackening with her own scales, her bloodshot gaze pierced Shadow with boiling hatred.

.

"Crap…" Gajeel rumbled uncertainly. "That's new…"

.

"I didn't know I could do that…"

.

In the next instant, the future was colliding with the past and the ground was rippling with their conflict as both bodies shot into the air in the blast of colliding magics.

.

"Shadow!" Gajeel bellowed in concern.

.

"I'm ok," she whimpered softly, panting as she mediated her situation with her wings of sanctified purity. "But I don't think we're fighting dragons anymore." She whined as her dark-self was piercing her with her claws and raking her from the sky into the earth.

.

Gajeel took a step back and thought about her words. "Not fighting dragons… does that mean she's using some sort of other mag-"

.

"Solid script – hole!" Levy demanded, dropping Gajeel six feet under to protect him from the sweep of future Neirah's hellfire spells.

.

"Nice one, Lev," he groaned. "But did ya have to drop me in another damn hole!?"

.

"I have a theory," Erza demanded swiftly. "We haven't witnessed the future Neirah use any infinite slayer spells."

.

"That's right," Levy theorised in agreement.

.

"Hey! How about solid script ladder!?"

.

"It's possible that the taint of her own sins is keeping her from being able to generate the magic. She would be vulnerable."

.

"I have the same thought," Erza suggested. "Infinite purification magic targets the black in a person's soul and destroys it. If there is nothing but black left, it's possible that the spells would destroy them entirely."

.

Levy winced as she watched the future pummel the past into the earth mercilessly. "True, but this Neirah has developed the hellfire magic of the Austalian cult that specifically created it to oppose the infinite dragon! She is practically Shadow's opposite in every way!" Levy flinched as the ground shook nearby, Laxus' impatient groan rising from the dust as his bleak future glared back at him in the form of a vengeful beast. "I… have an idea…"

.

* * *

.

"Y'know… it kinda pisses me off that you screwed up so bad with your wife that you had to pop by and try to steal mine." Laxus rumbled, glaring back at his future impatiently. "So why is it you'll talk to her and not me?" His eyes widened and arms flew up in front of his face as he was blinded by a deafening crimson flash. He ground his teeth and endured as much as he could before countering with his own strike; a strike that, at best, tickled his opponent. He kept his gaze wandering in between attacks, his body growing fatigued with the effort. 'Come on, pal… I'm puttin' a lot of faith in you,' he thought desperately. He kicked off the earth to avoid lightning only to be struck down by the future's fist.

.

He grunted in pain the moment he struck the earth, but that didn't seem to be enough. If he wasn't too busy filling the air with cries of anguish as the beast came crashing down on top of him, he might've made a snarky comment about how the man had clearly come to hate his wife more than he hated himself. It was the only reason he could think of that the brute could speak to Neirah and not him.

.

His fingers trembled against the earth as he withdrew them towards his palm, trying to push himself to his feet. He panted raggedly, staring over the battle-torn earth as he was deafened by sporadic cracks of thunder in his counterpart's wake. His thoughts fell to his friends that he had spoken with mere hours before, rage building inside him as he thought of the demon his wife was currently facing. She was easy to hate. He tried to feel sympathetic as he staggered to his unsteady feet and looked back at himself resentfully. He wasn't innocent either. He had also attacked Freed with no just cause. Merciful or not, he was an enemy.

.

"I'm done playing games with you." He assured his villainous self, rolling his neck into one raised shoulder. "It's not somethin' I've got time for." He could see it, the spark of reaction in his opponent's tense body, but it wasn't enough. "So let's give er' something she wants to see."

.

"Now Shadow!" Levy cried, clearing the path for Neirah's advance. The demons of the future looked to the blackening sky as the earth cracked beneath their feet. She plugged her ears and ducked behind a rock next to Erza. "I hope this works!"

.

"Get back here!" The dark demoness raged as she lunged after her bright opponent.

.

They called her Fairy Tail's shadow for a reason and she was determined to prove why being a shadow matched being a god any day. She leapt into the air and when her fingertips connected with the earth, she sent a shockwave through the granite until the ground opened up around her. She weaved into a delicate front handspring before spanning the ravine she'd created to land back to back with her husband. "How fitting," Neirah mused while waiting for her future self to gain distance. "One of you thinks you belong in heaven and the other is crawling up out of hell."

.

Laxus' gaze flashed in determination as he reached out and took her hand in his. "We got something for the both of you," he growled.

.

Future Laxus stumbled backwards curiously as the ground opened beneath him, the sky black as night above.

.

"Black and white lightning?" Erza observed.

.

Levy smiled and spared a glance. "The second most powerful spell those two are capable of performing together!" She informed proudly.

.

Gajeel gave a wicked grin at her side as he watched the battlefield light up with the joining of black lightning from beneath the ground and white from above. "God Storm."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Eight Hours and Twenty-Eight Minutes Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Neirah panted weakly as she recovered from the sudden surge of magical energy she had expelled, observing the dusty battlefield as the sky cleared around them. Her heart fluttered hopefully as she listened to the sound of her undisturbed heart beat. "A concentrated dose of infinity otta shut them up." She crooned, ebony scales fading from her skin. She turned and looked up at Laxus with a gentle smile. "That'll teach them to mess with Heaven's Rain."

.

She flinched as Laxus' soft smile was interrupted by an utterly devastated grimace. Her heart sank as she followed his gaze to where her future-self was crawling out of the earth, black as night and tipping her demonic crimson gaze their way. "You will have to try harder than that… if you want to hunt dragons," she sneered vengefully.

.

Laxus whirled around to where he faced the shadow of his own future-self shaking off his burial like it was a joke. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He demanded weakly, wincing and dropping to his knees. "How are they still walking."

.

Neirah knelt by his side fretfully as he groaned in pain. "I'm sorry! I tried to limit your exposure, are you alright?"

.

"Yea," he brushed off uncertainly. "It's not your magic that did this."

.

Levy watched on in utter horror as both sides of their future stood brazenly while the past recoiled in exhaustion. "Impossible," she whispered softly. "Neirah's magic obliterates darkness… It… they should be dead." She took a trembling step backwards. "C-could… could it be that the living magic is what's defending them?! Is it possible that the magic itself is capable of evolving and assimilating the host?!"

.

"Tell me, fairies of the past," A demonic Empress mused darkly. "How do you feel about death?"

.

"NOW LYE!"

.

"Aye!" Lyra giggled, dropping Alex from above from where she carried her brother on little white wings.

.

"Eat lightning crazy lady!"

.

"Alex!" Neirah wailed desperately, watching in horror as her son was dropped by his sister on top of her demonic counterpart. "Wait. When did Lyra learn-"

.

"Is he crazy?!" Gajeel demanded, too worried for the boy's current safety to be thankful that he was alive.

.

"Solid script – ice!"

.

"Lily!" Levy wailed in relief, holding her hands to her lips as Lily sidestepped the furious demon to duck behind cover as the woman slipped about the icy surface her magic had created. Levy turned to face Neirah, hoping that the infinite slayer was just as quick on her toes as their children. "Shadow!"

.

Neirah lunged towards the demon as she swatted Alex away from where he'd been on the offensive.

.

"Go, momma!" Lyra called proudly, forcing the demoness distracted once more as she turned to face where Shadow approached in a blinding flash of light.

.

"Infinite dragon force," Erza witnessed in astonishment. "I never thought I'd see it."

.

"I told you!" The demon wailed. "Hellfire was made to extinguish infinity's light!"

.

"Nothing can dull my shine," Neirah rumbled regally, her features not even visible behind her blinding glow. The demon miss-stepped in panic as the woman disappeared entirely before her. By the time she had realised what had happened, it was too late.

.

Neirah appeared on the other side of the dark demon, panting as normal as can be. "Divine purge…" She whispered, listening to the hollow thump of her future-self hitting her knees in the dirt. "Infinite light of retribution."

.

"Auntie went inside her and destroyed all the bad stuff," Lilian whispered softly.

.

Laxus' breathing hitched as he watched future Neirah fall forwards to the ground, dust rising around her unconscious figure. "Amazing," he murmured proudly. 'Damn, I love that woman…'

.

"Laxus!" Gajeel roared urgently, watching in horror as the beast from the future blew by him towards the weakened infinite slayer.

.

"No," he whispered in alarm. Because the men shared the same love for the same woman, as he took a moment to admire and cherish her, the other was using the same love and converting it to the living magic's evil ways.

.

Neirah turned her head just in time to see the devil approach, but before she could determine that it wasn't as an ally, she was already in too deep.

.

"MOM!" Alex screeched, forced to sit by and watch the events unfold.

.

Neirah's eyes widened and she stared past Laxus' shoulder into the sun that had just begun to set, her world crumbling from beneath her. "No…" She whimpered helplessly, tears streaming down her bloodied face as she watched where future Laxus' hand lingered a breath away from her breast from behind her husband's chest. She drew in a shrill breath as she relived the last moment a similar event had occurred when she'd thought she'd lost him forever. After a long and heart-wrenching moment, her deafening wail pierced the still air around them.

.

"Daddy," Lyra whined.

.

Laxus blinked, forcing a hard swallow down his throat as he glared back at his reflection nose to nose, the beast's hand reopening the scar he carried on his chest since the day he'd confessed his love for the woman he now called his wife. He blinked back his fatigue and laid his hand against the devil's wrist slowly retracting it from his flesh like he had with the Ghoul Knight's blade.

.

He didn't take his gaze off the flickering of uncertainty filling the man before him as he withdrew the offending limb entirely. "Better… have… tried."

.

Neirah gasped as Laxus drove his fist up into the jaw of his enemy, the crack loud enough to send a chill down her spine. "Laxus!" She wailed, lunging towards him through her exhaustion. She screeched desperately as she was held back by her brother in her struggle.

.

"Keep her there!" Laxus demanded weakly. The kick he landed in his own ribs sent his shadow back into the earth a comforting distance away. "Alex isn't losing his mother again!" He demanded, dropping one leg forwards to steady himself.

.

"This can't be happening," Levy whimpered. "Gajeel, he needs help!"

.

Gajeel's gaze narrowed on the fight raging between the two men in front of him before he took to his comrade's side without a second thought.

.

"Neirah, stay back!" Erza demanded, shielding she and Levy from the debris the boys kicked back.

.

Neirah was moments from protesting before Lyra fluttered down from the flashing sky with her brother in tote. "Lyra…" She whimpered softly, crying into her hands with their father's blood on her fingers.

.

"It's ok mommy," Lyra whispered softly. She reached out and quietly gave her mom a reassuring hug. "Daddy will be ok…"

.

Neirah couldn't help but just clutch her daughter, letting her believe that she was right.


	10. The Home We Built

_**The Home We Built**_

* * *

.

.

* * *

.

 ** _Seven Hours and Thirteen Minutes Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Gajeel threw his hand out to the side, slowly approaching the phantom of his friend that was barely clinging to life at their feet. "Y'know, I wasn't even mad that you killed me before." Gajeel's gaze narrowed as his right arm forged into a jagged sword at his hip. "But you hurt my pal…" He growled down at the defiant creature resentfully. "I'd say that if he doesn't make it out of this, yer dead, but… he'll make it," he reassured himself confidently. He tipped his head back and glowered at the man from behind his downcast gaze. "And I think I'm gonna go ahead and kill you anyways."

.

The devil before him didn't once hesitate to bare teeth at him even though he was all out of fight. Gajeel had to admit that he was only slightly hesitant as he drew his sword over his head with intentions of taking the man's head, but before he landed his blow, he was stopped by the only thing that could ever steady his hand to such a detrimental purpose.

.

"Gajeel, no!"

.

He flinched, his hand still high above his head as his blade vanished and he was left to stare down towards where his baby sister bawled her eyes out and clutched the battered demon to her chest despite the creature's vacant struggle to ward her off. "Sh-shads? What… what're you…"

.

"Please, I beg of you, don't hurt him!" She screeched. She adjusted her panicked tone to a soothing one as she tried her best to clutch him close to her even as he growled and batted her away like a frightened animal that had been caught in a hunter's trap. "He's beaten! He can't hurt anyone anymore," she pleaded. She closed her teary gaze and grasped him tightly. "Please… don't take him away from me…"

.

Gajeel scoffed in disbelief. "Shads, wrong husband! Yers is over there bleedin' out to save your-"

.

"Screwball..."

.

Gajeel caught his breath as he swung around to face where Neirah had her wounded husband braced against her sky dragon slayer magic, Levy tending to bandaging his wound. He turned suddenly and took a step back, watching the frantic woman crying over the man he'd almost ended. "Wait… so…"

.

"Neirah's magic must have stopped the virus after all. Before it completely destroyed her," Erza assured him softly. "It's likely she's dealing with the freedom and acknowledgement of all her crimes at once. And she _was_ married to him…"

.

Gajeel watched hesitantly as the future Neirah tried to settle her lover to save him from the dark spell as well. "You mean… it's over…?"

.

Erza looked out over the destruction their party had caused the land. "I wouldn't say that," she ascertained. "We still have to find out who is responsible and both Laxus and Neirah are far too weak to deal with the conflict of running into anyone else who remains of the guilds opposing."

.

"Right," Gajeel rumbled uncertainly. "Guess the big guy's plan wasn't all he'd hoped it would be."

.

* * *

.

 ** _Seven Hours and Thirty-Six Minutes Remain_**

.

* * *

.

The Neirah of the past sighed fretfully as her hands fell into her lap. "I'm so sorry," she whispered weakly. "I've got nothing left." She admitted her defeat, raising her hands to her face to stifle her shame. "This always happens… I'm always just out of reach."

.

Laxus sighed exhaustedly and raised trembling fingertips to pull her hands from her face. "That's what you said last time this happened," he breathed out hazily. "And the time before… and the time before that. I'm still here…"

.

"You managed to seal most of the wound," Levy informed her optimistically. "And I've stopped the bleeding."

.

"Dad…" Alex whispered softly.

.

Laxus smiled back at the boy from where he sat, lifting his palm to drop it on top of the boy's head. "You really are your mother's kid," he teased, ruffling up his hair. "Crazy as hell."

.

"Hey!" Alex scolded him, brushing his hand off and flushing in embarrassment. "You're one to talk. Look at how bad you and uncle Gajeel kicked the other you's butt! Nobody was able to do that before!"

.

"Tsk, they obviously didn't try too hard."

.

"But daaad!"

.

Lyra turned her head with a small gasp, gently patting at her father's arm. It was slow and steady at first, but it quickly accelerated when he didn't immediately release his son from his playful grasp. "Daddy… you have to get up now," Lyra murmured gravely.

.

"Hm? What's the matter, Angel?" He murmured curiously, following the girl's outstretched finger. He caught his breath with uncertainty as they were approached by an unfamiliar woman clad in revealing black robes.

.

The middle-aged woman gave a charming painted smile as she peeked back at them from beneath docked, platinum blonde bangs. "Hello, Laxus," she crooned seductively. She straightened her posture and looked down at them over the bridge of her nose in a way similar to how future Neirah had when she was under the influence of living magic. "It's been a while…"

.

* * *

.

 ** _Six Hours Remain_**

.

* * *

.

Neirah watched the woman warily as she approached, carefully monitoring Laxus' reaction to her greeting. But although she seemed to have known Laxus, Laxus didn't seem to show any signs of recollection. In fact, his reaction assured her that he was desperately trying to recognise her face.

.

"What a shame," the woman cooed in a manner strikingly like the way future Neirah had. "You don't remember me, do you?"

.

Laxus ground his teeth and narrowed his impatient gaze, preparing to demand that he'd never seen her before in his life when the woman spoke again.

.

"Well, since I got such a wonderful show earlier with the suffering of my greatest rivals, I'll help you out a little, you pitiful brute."

.

"Her rivals," Levy whispered uncertainly. "Does she mean the Laxus'?"

.

"The year was X783, but far be it for a woman with a grudge to recall every detail. We met just south of here in Hargeon. I was young and beautiful, and you were in your prime."

.

Laxus gave a derisive snort. "Well, that can't be right," he interrupted impatiently. "I'd say I'm there right about now." Laxus stilled as she raised her venomous smile to meet his gaze.

.

"That's not how you saw it when you laid with me and promised forever."

.

Laxus' expression paled, the vague memories of a drunken one-night stand filling his thoughts. The woman's age made a little more sense now that he could factor in seven years of stagnation into his life, but she'd clearly clung to their entanglement every day since he'd left. 'Crap…' He could almost feel Neirah's passionate gaze piercing him with the heat of her wrath. Hoping that a lifetime worth of apologies would suffice, he slowly turned to face the brunt of her fury. His heart ached painfully as he groaned and was forced to divert his gaze from her intensity. 'If she doesn't lose it in the next thirty seconds, I'm dea-'

.

" ** _Huh_** , any other crazy ex-girlfriends that might try to kill me that I should know about?" Neirah spat out heatedly.

.

"Well they all had to be pretty crazy to get with a guy like me, but probably only a handful of them would go so-" Laxus nearly yelped with the pain of Neirah jabbing him in the ribs.

.

"You think this is funny?!"

.

"Oh, come _ON_! It wasn't like that! It was one night… and the forever part, if that's even true, was probably just the alcohol talk-"

.

" _OF_ course it was. God, you really are a hound!" Neirah raged, pushing away from his embrace impatiently and climbing to her feet. The effort of her adjustment caused him to grit his teeth with the pain rippling through his arm. "Gee, glad to know I'm not the only woman you forgot meeting, or apparently-"

.

Gajeel reached out and covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence. "Not in front of the kids," he demanded awkwardly.

.

Laxus climbed to his feet and threw his good arm out towards her in his defence. "Well the way I see it, it's about time _my_ past is the one that comes back to fuck up our lives for once after all the crap we went through with yours!" Laxus stilled beneath the beady gaze of his children staring up at him awestruck and silent. "Oops…"

.

"Daddy did a swear," Lyra whispered bashfully feeling like she should cover her ears.

.

"See, mom!? Dad curses!" Alex defended in reference to a time he'd been grounded for letting a foul word touch his lips.

.

"Yes, and he's grounded as soon as we get home," Neirah scolded certainly. She turned away from the man entirely with a curt scoff. "And that's if I even let him come back."

.

"Oh my," the woman cooed mischievously. "If I had of known that the relationship was this rocky I wouldn't have spent all those years devote to a forgotten black magic."

.

Levy was the one to go on the attack with her words. "Why did you reintroduce those terrible spells to the world!?" Levy demanded passionately. "Do you have any idea the number of people who lost their lives as a result?!"

.

The woman didn't hesitate to peer at the small girl with her sadistic smile still on her lips. "Yet the one I hate most still stands."

.

"Look, Juno, I screwed up," Laxus demanded apologetically. Due to the snap of the woman's expression, he assumed he was right in assuming that he had managed to come up with the right name. He didn't linger too much on the triumph though as he took a step towards the crazed woman. "But I think you're takin' this a little far. I'm sorry for the things I said, but you didn't have to come back and bring my family into this!"

.

The woman gave a whimsical chuckle. "Oh? You even remembered my name, how sweet. Is the lipstick stain still on your shirt?" Juno crooned sweetly.

.

'Sure, remember the psycho's name…' Neirah thought bitterly to herself. 'Ugly friggin name…'

.

"Unfortunately, you're just as naïve as ever," Juno purred. "I wasn't referring to you."

.

Laxus recoiled in horror as Juno summoned forth a whip to her side, cracking it confidently before using it as the leverage she needed to rake Neirah from his side. "Neirah!" He demanded in alarm, aware that the last of Neirah's magic had been spent in battle with her future self.

.

"Yes, if it wasn't for this filthy little rascal, my world would still be perfect," she snarled. "See, I would have struck out just at your little witchy wife, but you two got busy before you even tied the knot." She snickered mischievously. "And black magic takes just _so_ darn long to learn…"

.

"Are you crazy?! She was just a damn kid back then!" Laxus demanded. "Just because we shared a drink almost twenty years ago doesn't mean it would have lasted anyway!"

.

Laxus narrowly dodged the fall of a rather malicious looking spear as it seemed to plummet from the sky when Gajeel dragged him back away from the woman's attack. "Damn it, you don't tell a crazy girl she's crazy!" Gajeel raged, dodging a couple more weapons as they fell. "Have you learned nothin' living with my sister?!"

.

"Requip!" Erza demanded. Her heaven's wheel armour reflected the setting sun as she lurched forwards and slashed away the various articles summoned forth by their enemy.

.

"Ah, you requip as well," Juno fussed nonchalantly in observance. "That's tiresome."

.

"Release Neirah this instant!" Erza demanded furiously.

.

"Oh my, that's delightful. Don't think I haven't realised that you five have come to me from the past."

.

'Five…?' Erza thought uncertainly.

.

"I'm not letting you take her back with you," she hissed softly against the whip she'd curled around Neirah's throat. "Although, it's a shame that killing her will erase all the damage done by my beautiful living magic. The last year or so was quite exciting. But the battle this afternoon has drawn my games to a climactic conclusion, I would say." She smiled and nuzzled against Neirah's neck affectionately. "I have no regrets."

.

"You're about to!" Laxus demanded, lunging towards the woman with all intents of choking the life from her scantily clad body.

.

"I don't think so," she mused. She requipped a sword to her hand to hold it at Neirah's throat and Laxus froze in his tracks, his heart racing with terror as he watched Neirah whimper as her dry swallow forced the decorated steel to slice into her skin.

.

"No," Levy whimpered. She quickly turned her head towards the sun setting on the horizon. "The sun's just setting, we still have time!" She demanded frantically.

.

"That's right," Juno growled sadistically. "Now that you are all filled with the realisation of my certain victory, let's see how you will spend your final moments." She turned her vengeful aqua gaze towards Laxus. "Do you have anything to say to your beloved wife before I take her away from you? Perhaps, sorry for ever coming into your life?"

.

Neirah's throat worked against the blade once again, her expression darkening with defiance. "To think, that if I truly grew to hate my husband, I would end up exactly like you…"

.

"Eh?"

.

Neirah spared her future self a glance as she rested against the man she'd managed to save, the two of them suffering from the realisation they'd ended lives that were as dear to them as each other. "Taking my life will mean nothing when the sun sets," Neirah assured her rudely. "This future will fade with my death and you will find that you are no closer to regaining your dreams than before."

.

"I'm vaguely aware that I asked your miserable wretch of a husband if _he_ had any last words for _you_!" She demanded impatiently.

.

"Yea," Laxus rumbled confidently, glaring back at the woman with fury in his expression. "You don't know crazy until you know my wife."

.

"Villains are so stupid," Neirah hissed.

.

Juno barely had enough time to flinch before Neirah's teeth were sinking into the blade she'd recoiled from, the pressure of iron resistance shattering the steel entirely. "No!" Her concern immediately boiled over into a rage as she grew to loathe herself for being so conceited.

.

She summoned a replacement blade to her side before chasing after the woman who returned to where her brother was preparing to defend her while Laxus took the offensive. "I will not let her return!" She demanded, drawing her blade up to deflect the lightning that plummeted towards her. Her gaze was wide and deranged with fury as she glared past anything else to where Neirah panted weakly behind her brother at Levy's side. "You're all weak from your battles! There is no way you can hold me off until the night closes on your time in this world."

.

"Damn it, you shoulda broke that sword," Laxus demanded impatiently.

.

"So unbelievably naïve!" She wailed, slamming her heel into Laxus' defence. "I knew my quarry. All of my weapons are made to withstand the element I suspected to oppose me!"

.

"All her weapons are lightning resistant?!" Levy demanded. "Gajeel!"

.

"Yea," he agreed upon lunging towards his friend's side. "Let's see how resistant they are to iron."

.

He was moments before colliding with the hysteric woman when he realised that she was looking far too proud of herself for his liking. His heart sank as she let out a maniacal cackle of triumph. "Fools!"

.

He swung around to look over his shoulder to where Neirah remained at his back, next to powerless and surrounded by requipped blades floating in the air above her. "Shadow! Get the hell out of-!"

.

Gajeel watched in slow motioned horror as the blades rocketed towards his sister before she could even turn her head to see them coming. But before his world had completely blackened with terror, he watched Erza dive into the fray, her sword in hand and flailing desperately to stop as many blades as she could from reaching the earth.

.

"I will not let you take her life!" Erza demanded.

.

Neirah contemplated trying to retreat, but she knew she'd only put her life at risk. Instead, she was forced to watch through welling tears as the woman in front of her was torn by the many blades she was incapable of deflecting. "Please no…" She knew in her heart that the Erza before her was a phantom of a future they intended on preventing, but she couldn't bring herself to accept her torment.

.

"Iron dragon's sword!" Gajeel roared, leaping towards the scene to knock away as many of the blades as he could with their continued rain. "How many swords does this chick have?!" He demanded grimly.

.

"As many as I could find!" She demanded. "I knew that one day I would face the woman who stole my happiness and when I did, I wanted to obliterate her in the most gruesome way possible." Distracted by the scene of her wrath raining down upon the woman, she was oblivious to the sight of Laxus' fist approaching her jaw. With a deafening crack, her head flew back and her arsenal's assault ceased.

.

Neirah opened her eyes, staring past her big brother to where Erza hit her knees nearby, her blood pooling in the sand beneath. "Erza!" She wailed, clumsily taking to her feet and approaching the woman who'd fallen back into the dust. "No…" She lifted the woman's head against her chest. "Erza your wounds…"

.

"You have seen her face…" Erza whispered through an exhausted smile. "Now run…"

.

"No, please… I can't watch another friend die…" Neirah begged.

.

"I'm looking forward to… that tea and cake."

.

Neirah stifled her choked giggle as she wiped at her tears and stroked Erza's crimson locks from where they clung to her bloodied figure. "No," Neirah whispered gently. She closed her eyes and laid Erza's lifeless figure back on the ground. "You're looking backwards…"

.

Neirah hunched sadly, her heart in pieces over the things she'd seen in the past three days of her life. "I want to go home," she whispered weakly, watching her tears fall onto the ground in silence.

.

Levy silently joined her and laid her hand on her shoulder. "Come on," she gently encouraged. "Erza is right… If we leave now before she gets back up, we can put some distance between us and hide out until our time is up."

.

Neirah turned her solemn gaze to where her future-self was embracing her husband, who was in tears against her. "I've never seen it from the outside before," Neirah murmured gently. "What it looks like to cherish someone so deeply that it's capable of inflicting jealousy on others."

.

Levy smiled knowingly, realising that she was probably the worst culprit for said feelings and the thought forced her to divert her attention with a bashful smile. She turned her attention to where her husband was watching them sombrely. "Everyone shows love differently. Sometimes, considering the 'what could be's can make people green. I guess it takes almost losing what you have to make you realise you had the best kind all along," Levy encouraged. "But if this trip had to have a silver lining… I would look at those who lost their humanity to the living magic that Juno was capable of using." She smiled as she thought of the terror she'd become. "The more love they had for others, the more dangerous they'd become." She joined Neirah in watching the future smile back at each other for the first time since they'd found freedom. "I'd say that love, no matter how it's shown, is something to envy."

.

Neirah turned and looked to where Laxus had offered her the hand he was still capable of using. She was filled with hope when he gently smiled down at her supportively, lightly curling his fingers around hers as she laid them against his palm. "We still got a couple of hours to kill," he warned her softly. "I think it's about time we make tracks." She just couldn't stay mad at him.

.

"No…"

.

Neirah turned her bewildered gaze to where their enemy had staggered to her feet, her sword raking weakly through the dirt. "I will not… let you take him away from me!"

.

"Momma… we need to go now," Lyra cooed gently as she reached up and tugged on her mother's tattered skirt.

.

Neirah bent down and gently took her daughter up in her arms. "I know sweetie," she whispered against the child held close to her breast. She watched uncertainly as tears surfaced unexpectedly in Juno's eyes.

.

"That could have been our daughter…" Her whisper was desperate as she drew her fingers out towards the delicate child.

.

Laxus scoffed at her pathetic effort, ushering Neirah forwards to begin their retreat. "If you knew anything about the way love works, you'd know better," Laxus growled, keeping a weathered eye on the painful flickering of her expression.

.

Finally, he turned his back and joined his companions and their children as they began to leave the desecrated battlefield. "I feel kind of bad for her," Levy whispered softly while listening to the woman cry at their backs.

.

"Yea, it seems like you made QUITE the impression." Neirah scolded her husband brashly, giving him a narrowed side glance.

.

There was a hitch in Laxus' breath as he turned his flushed pout to the side.

.

Juno was already furious, but when Laxus slowly reached down and intertwined his fingers lazily with his wife's, she lost all control of her wrath. "I will not let you take him from me again." She growled, picking up the remains of the shattered blade she'd held against Neirah's throat. "I'll kill you both!"

.

Laxus swung around the moment the deranged woman at his back made her approach clear, but before he could react to her vicious advance, someone else had decided to exact their vengeance for the crimes she committed.

.

Neirah recoiled back behind the defence of her husband as they watched the brooding fury of the man before them drive the woman into the dirt at their feet; his ragged breaths filled with pent aggression. The Laxus of the future slowly redirected his gaze towards where the past stared back at him uncertainly.

"Take Alex and Lyra and go," the Empress assured them sternly, a similar look of anger flashing in her gaze. "If she lives to watch this world fade, I'll be surprised." She turned and looked back at her reflection with a soft smile, tears welling in her eyes as she watched an alternate version of herself holding her daughter. "This Shadow has still got some fight in her." She turned her gaze towards Gajeel, a skip in her heartbeat and her expression wavering with the sentiment. "And take care of Screwball for me," she whispered tenderly.

.

Neirah stepped forwards to allow she and Lyra to embrace her future strongly. "I'll say hi to everyone for you when we get back."

.

"Thank you…"

.

Laxus stared up into his future's crimson expression with a look of annoyance on his face. "I'm still mad that you kissed my wife."

.

His future gave him a grunt of acknowledgement. "Mine kisses better."

.

Laxus' expression dropped in disbelief as he watched himself walk away; casually waving back at their party over his shoulder. "Of course she does!" He hollered back. "She's had six years of practice!" He flinched as he turned to face the wife he'd take back with him to the past.

.

"You saying I need practice?" She sneered impatiently.

.

"What? I- no! I just-"

.

Neirah scoffed and turned away, joining her brother and Levy as they walked ahead. "God, I should have let you suffer."

.

Laxus threw out both his arms as he was left behind, wincing immediately with the pain of the effort. "I suffer every damn day…"

.

" _What was that_?!"

.

"Don't give me that crap! You're a dragon, you know exactly what I said!"

.

"Still jealous?" Gajeel crooned impishly, giving his wife a playful grin.

.

Levy smiled and slipped her hand in his. "I've got nothing to be jealous of."

.

* * *

.

The Empress reached out and took her husband's hand in hers. "I'm sorry for everything…"

.

"Yea…" He rumbled hoarsely, red and gold sparks comingling against their conjoined fingers. "What do you say we bring the sky down on her head?"

.

Neirah turned to look at the panicking woman with a devilish grin on her lips. Moments after, the sky lit up with the brilliant light of Heaven's Rain's most powerful combined force. An exhausting effort that saw their enemy lost in the abyss that opened between heaven and earth at their command.

.

* * *

.

 _ **Five Hours Fade**_

.

* * *

.

Neirah gave a deep sigh as she slowly released her son from her tender embrace. "Make sure you stay with your sister this time," she ordered gently. "If your father finds out you left her behind twice he is not going to be happy," she teased.

.

"Don't worry, I'll stay," Alex assured her obediently. His father's intimidating glance surely had little to do with his compliance.

.

"And Lyra, I don't want you to be scared, ok sweetie?" She whispered, giving her daughter a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Mommy and daddy will always love you."

.

"I know, momma," she cooed into a soft hug. "We'll be waiting for you."

.

It took Neirah a moment to realise that her daughter's embrace didn't seem to connect with her skin for a moment before she realised that she was fading from the future. She was filled with panic for a moment, but the feeling of Laxus by her side made her strong enough to send her children a parting smile.

.

"Bye, momma!" Lyra called out with a happy giggle. "Take good care of brother!"

.

Neirah was moments from responding to the image of her fading daughter before she was silenced by her puzzling parting statement. 'Brother? Alex?' She turned to where Gajeel heaved an unsteady sigh. 'Gajeel?"

.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Gajeel announced enthusiastically. "Drop us outta the damn sky! Just watch, Lev! I'm gonna catch you this time!"

.

Levy gave a light-hearted chuckle as the walls of the Dreyar residence started to fade into sight around them. "Oh well. I guess you're off the hook."

.

"Hey!" Gajeel raged, shaking his fist at the ceiling. "Yer supposed to drop us damn it!"

.

Laxus sighed before picking Levy up by the shoulders and tossing her into her husband's arms. "Great, husband of the year." He rumbled grimly, shoving Gajeel towards the door. "Now get the hell out of my house."

.

"Momma!"

.

Neirah's expression lit up as her baby daughter came running through the kitchen to leap up into her arms. "Lyra, oh sweetie, it's ok. Mommy and daddy are here now." She set the snivelling blonde down at her feet, relieved tears trickling down her face.

.

Lyra laughed a whimsical giggle as she threw her face against her mother's stomach for a tight hug. "And you brought brother with you!" Lyra purred tenderly as Neirah stroked her hair down her back.

.

* * *

.

 _"_ _Bye, momma!" Lyra called out with a happy giggle. "Take good care of brother!"_

.

* * *

.

Neirah stilled hesitantly with the girl's reiteration. "Wait… but…"

.

Juvia rounded the corner with a relieved smile as she laid her eyes on the four exhausted friends that she had watched take to the future. "Shadow! You've returned!" She exclaimed, giving her sister a tight hug. "Poor Lyra hasn't been able to sleep. She kept having bad dreams about her father being in trouble and her mother having to save him. The dear might as well have been there."

.

Neirah's brow furrowed curiously as she knelt back down in front of her daughter. "Lyra, sweetie… Where do you think mommy and daddy went?"

.

Lyra gave an enchanted giggle before throwing her arms up into the air with giddy excitement. "To the baby world to bring back little brother!"

.

Laxus stilled behind his wife, the feeling of Gajeel's gaze piercing him as sternly as it ever had. "You didn't," Gajeel growled. He flinched as Laxus tipped his gaze to the ceiling sheepishly. "Not cool man! That was Salamander's freaking house!" He whirled to face Neirah just as angrily. "I said get on _it_ not get on _him_!"

.

Neirah flinched as Lyra dropped her finger in line with her nose. "And don't forget, daddy's grounded! So, no cookie tonight!"

.

Neirah slowly turned to face where Laxus stared back at her in disbelief. "I hate to undermine the fact that our almost five-year-old daughter is seeing events that transpired in the future, but she's right."

.

"Lyra has clairvoyance?" Levy whispered gently.

.

Neirah smiled as she scooped Lyra up into her arms, trying to read between the lines of truth and fantasy. "What makes you think I brought you a brother?"

.

"'Cos daddy says I'm going to have twenty-six brothers and sisters!"

.

Neirah's expression dimmed humbly as she listened to her rejoicing daughter celebrate their return. "Odd," she murmured coldly. "I thought we agreed twenty-eight was a nice even number."

.

"Actually, it was thirty… but…"

.

Levy laughed uncertainly. "Oh, so it must have just been a coincidence that she was dreaming about her father being grounded."

.

Neirah sighed and gently set her daughter on the floor to scoot around in delight. "Yea, but I'll be looking into 'baby brother', just in case…"

.

Gajeel reached out and cuffed Laxus in the back of the head. "You really are a dog!"

.

"Look, it's kind of our thing! I have a run in with death, I get some." He turned and stilled as he looked back at his impatient wife boiling over with embarrassment. "What…?"

.

"I should have let you suffer."

.

He sighed and started after her. "Oh come on, Neirah where are you going?"

.

"To take a bath!"

.

Gajeel sidestepped and gave his wife a playful nudge. "Y'know… technically I did die… so…"

.

Levy smiled back at him bashfully. "Gajeel when I said you could learn something from Neirah and Laxus on this trip, that wasn't what I referring to."

.

He smiled back at her affectionately before reaching out and fiddling with the ends of her hair. "Say have… you ever… thought about growin' out yer hair?"

.

Juvia flinched, wide-eyed as the crack of Levy's palm against his cheek filled the silent kitchen before the woman turned to storm out.

.

"I didn't mean it like that! I just thought the other you looked kinda cut-"

.

"Hound! You and Laxus can share the dog house tonight!"

.

"Lev!"

.

"I'm going to finish my book!"

.

Gajeel sighed as he stood next to Laxus, the two men silently listening to the water running upstairs. "Women are crazy," he groaned impatiently.

.

"Yep," Laxus agreed.

.

"But life would probably suck without em'…"

.

"Yep…"

.

Gajeel gave a sly grin and turned his attention to face the man at his side. "But you gotta admit, my future wife was pretty hot."

.

Laxus blinked back at him mellowly for a long moment.

.

"Right?"

.

Laxus quietly reached out and curled his fingers around in two large circles before crossing his arms like an 'x'. Gajeel, taking immediate offence, shook his fist at the friend he'd watched turn to join his wife.

.

"Oh come on! Is that _all_ you think about?!" He watched Laxus shrug from where he lingered at his back while he climbed the stairs of his home. "Man, you really are a dog!"

.

Gajeel folded his arms defiantly and turned to face Juvia with a disgruntled snort. "Man, that guy really pisses me off…" He cocked a brow and looked down into her expectant gaze. "Don't guys like that just burn you up?"

.

Juvia simply blinked back at him vacantly.

.

"Oh right… water and… shit…"

.

* * *

.

"Lye! Check it out!" Alex demanded, rushing to her side through the bustling guild hall. He slowly opened his hands to reveal the butterfly he'd caught.

.

Lyra let out a shrill gasp. "Butterfly!"

.

"Yea! I caught it for you," he mused proudly. "I know you love them!"

.

Lyra giggled sweetly and threw out her arms to flap them like wings around the guild. "Someday I'll fly too!"

.

Neirah smiled warmly, her cheeks colouring with adoration as she watched her children play. She never thought that her family had difficulties in appreciating the little things, but she had to admit that she was certainly paying closer attention to them since they had returned.

.

"Are you alright?" Erza crooned in concern, laying her hand on top of Neirah's as they shared tea and cake. "You have been awfully quiet these last few days."

.

Neirah turned to face the beautiful woman with the utmost affection in her gaze. "I've never been better," she assured her gratefully.

.

She watched Erza rise to settle a guild debate when she was joined by their guild's master. "You know she's right. You doin' ok?" Laxus asked her gently.

.

"I'm fine," she assured him, sipping her tea. "Just glad to be home."

.

He propped himself up against the bar she sat before, overlooking the same butterfly chasing ruffians she'd been observing moments before. "So, any thought to what we should so about our little friend?" He pried uncertainly. "Are we really just gonna sit here and wait for her to show up and try somethin'?"

.

Neirah didn't skip a beat as she closed her eyes and pressed her tea to her lips. "Don't worry, sweetie, I took care of it."

.

Laxus flinched in bewilderment. "W-what do you mean you took care of it?"

.

Neirah turned her subtly sly expression towards him as she gently lowered her cup to its saucer. "You don't know crazy until you know your wife."

.

Neirah flinched as her hand was taken and she was led through the guild by her tense husband. She was moments from being furious that the act had seen her tea crash to the floor before she was done. "Wait… Laxus? Where are we-"

.

Laxus didn't pause as he passed by Gajeel, the rough man decorated with the youth of Fairy Tail's next generation. "You're in charge tin-man," he assured swiftly upon parting.

.

"Huh?"

.

"Daddy's the tin-man!"

.

"Oi! Don't you start too!" Gajeel scolded his wickedly playful daughter who was perched on his head.

.

"Laxus, what's gotten into you?" Neirah growled impatiently, unamused with being dragged out of the guild entirely.

.

"I just remembered how crazy I am about your crazy."

.

Neirah's cheeks coloured with the heat of her embarrassment thanks to his bold admittance.

.

Lyra skipped to the guild hall doors and hung outside them so that she could watch her parents disappear down the street hand in hand. The young child offered a whimsical giggle and quietly recited twenty-six more boy and girl names alike in anticipation.


End file.
